To Your Door
by Ali213
Summary: BL.Sequel to Beginning of Always. Half of Chapter 24 is up! That is, half of Christmas day...BL are basking in their new/old love.
1. The Beginning

_**Author's Note: **So this story is a sequel to 'Beginning of Always', which was kind of a sequel to 'Never Gone Away'. But you don't need to read either of them to read this, although it wouldn't hurt! A few characters from Beginning of Always turn up in this, and some stuff will be referred to, but the story should work on its own._

_Oh yeah, and the title is from Paul McCartney's 'A Long and Winding Road', so...thanks to him for that!_

_**Disclaimer:** I could totally own OTH, if I just became an American, had a sex change, aged quite a bit, cut my hair, changed my name to Josh Schwartz and killed the other one. Except I just got a hair cut and I kinda like it so it would be a bummer to have to change it again._

_We're heading straight into the middle of things, cause I bet you guys aren't even reading this, so I hope you like the story!_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter One: The Beginning**

Lucas looked up and smiled as he saw Brooke enter their room. "Hey babe."

She half nodded to him, her expression something between happy and terrified. He raised his eyebrows as she went over and turned off their CD player.

"Okay…" he said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Bad class?"

"Um…no. I have some…well I don't know. Kind of news…but maybe not…"

Lucas moved so he was sitting facing her and rubbed her knee. "What's up?"

Brooke exhaled slowly and then turned to him. "Okay. Um…I'm late."

There was silence for a second and then Lucas opened his mouth. "As in…?"

"Yeah."

"Did you take a test?"

She was surprised to see a hint of a smile on his lips. She only felt like throwing up. "Not yet. I was going to but then I wanted to kind of…warn you first. Which is totally selfish because actually I just didn't want to do the whole waiting and worrying thing on my own but - "

"No no, I'm glad you told me. I want to do this with you," he said quickly. "Shall we…I mean, do you want to do it know?"

Brooke hesitated and then nodded. He nodded too, smiling at her reassuringly, and took her hand, leading her out of the room.

* * *

Brooke leant her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "Oh my god Luke…how did we let this happen again?" 

Lucas dragged his eyes away from the timer and went over to her. "Brooke we didn't do anything…okay so we haven't been all that careful recently but this is totally different from last time. We're in love, and older, and - "

"We're still in college!"

"Lots of people have babies in college."

Brooke gave him a look.

"Okay maybe not lots, but it's not as big of a deal as in high school. And anyway, it's senior year."

"That's all very well for you to say, you're not the one who would be doing their finals heavily pregnant!"

"Brooke, if this test is positive you know I will help you as much as I can, okay? And I'm sure the professors would help too…maybe you could take a semester off and then finish off afterwards?"

"Oh yeah, with a screaming baby around, I'm sure that would work great!"

He took another step towards her and wrapped his arms round her, pulling her tightly against his chest. "I know this is so scary for you," he whispered against her hair. "And believe me I'm scared too. But if this is really happening then we'll get through it together, okay?"

He felt her nod against his chest and her fingers dig into his back. He stroked her hair and looked over her shoulder at the timer. "Come on," he said gently, dropping a kiss on her head, "It's time."

She drew back from him slowly and took his hand, turning towards the counter. She took a breath and then reached out and flipped over the test.

There was silence for a second and then Brooke spoke: "I'm pregnant," she said simply.

She turned towards him and he looked into her eyes. She bit her lip as she felt tears welling up, not really sure why. His heart was racing, but he smiled softly at her, reaching out and cupping her cheek, and because he didn't really know what else to say, he said, "I love you."

She wrapped her arms round his neck, smiling through tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. "Oh my god Luke…"

She drew back slowly, wiping away her tears.

"We're going to have a baby," he said quietly.

"Yeah…" She let out a breath and smiled. "We're going to have a baby…"

* * *

Lucas opened his apartment door, and smiled. 

"Daddy!" his daughter squealed and reached out her arms. Lucas laughed and picked her up, kissing her head before he turned to her mother, who was also smiling.

"Hi, um, she has some homework, which she needs to do," Brooke explained, "And is it okay if Lucy comes round to play tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Lucas said, "You have homework?" he asked his daughter, "Wow you're getting so grown up!"

"I have to do spelling," she said proudly.

"Hi Brooke," a woman had come into the large main room of the apartment, and smiled at her boyfriend's ex.

"Hi Emma," Brooke's voice was equally amiable, but both women felt the slight awkwardness that hung in the air whenever they were around each other.

"Okay, well, I will see you next Saturday, and I will see _you_ after school on Monday," she kissed her daughter goodbye, and gave Lucas a brief kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Brooke, bye," he shut the door behind her, and put his daughter down, watching her run to her room happily.

If anyone had told him in high school that one day he would be in a perfectly functioning joint custody arrangement with Brooke Davis, he would have thought they were crazy. He had always thought he and Brooke would be together forever, or if not would end in a blaze of fury that left them both scarred and heartbroken. When they had found out Brooke was pregnant, this was the last way he saw it turning out.

He was thankful though that they had made it work, for the sake of their daughter and themselves. When their relationship had fallen apart Lucas was devastated, but they had worked really hard to ensure their daughter would be loved by both of them and would not have to stand parents who could not be in the same room as each other.

Sure, after the break up they had had their fair share of blazing rows at first, but as some of these had ended up in them having passionate sex in one or other of their apartments they realised there was no way they would be able to live without each other.

They needed each other in their lives, and as they had gotten older and more mature, they had worked out a way for their relationship to work without them actually being in a relationship. Now they did not see each other very often, but they felt very much connected by the little girl they had brought into the world.

"Dad!"

Lucas chuckled as he heard his daughter's shout. He caught Emma's eye and she smiled over the top of the newspaper she was reading. Standing up, he went to go see what she wanted.

"You called?" he said with a smile as he entered the little girl's room.

"Well yeah! I'm here to see you doofus, not to sit around in here while you read the paper."

Lucas raised an eyebrow as he came to sit down in her large armchair. "Well someone's demanding today."

Amy shrugged. "I feel like being difficult."

"Uh huh. Alright then, what can I do for you?"

"Well…you could make me some banana pancakes…"

"Didn't you have breakfast with your mom?"

"Um…yeah…"

He chuckled. "We can have banana pancakes tomorrow."

Amy pouted and came and crawled into her Dad's lap. "How about we have them for lunch?"

"That would be a little weird."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Well then you gotta play with me."

"Okay, what do you want to play? And also, how come last week you wanted nothing to do with me and kept moaning about how you were missing mom's show, and this week I'm meant to be at your constant beck and call?"

"Six year olds are allowed to be demanding Dad, we're prone to mood swings."

"Oh yeah, who says?"

"Um…Carrie? I don't know I overheard someone talking to Mom about it. Anyway, last week I _was_ missing Mom's show, and also, why are you questioning this? You should be overjoyed to spend time with me."

He laughed. "Of course I am baby girl, come on then, pick a game…"

"Sweet dreams baby," Lucas whispered as he pulled up Amy's duvet.

"I'm not a baby."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "You're my baby."

There was silence while Amy considered this. "Fine."

"Settled?"

"I guess. Goodnight."

He chuckled quietly. "Night."

"I love you dad."

"Love you too Ames."

Lucas turned down the light and pulled the door halfway shut, going back into the living room. Emma looked up, "Is she in bed?"

"Yeah, lights out and everything."

Emma smiled and stood up. "I think I'm going to go to bed too, I've got a paper to read."

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

She kissed him briefly as she left the room, and he heard her say goodnight to Amy on her way to their room.

Lucas went over to the couch and sat down, turning on the TV. He flicked through the channels but there was absolutely nothing on, so he turned it off again and instead headed down the hall. Passing Amy's room he stopped by the door and looked in. She was asleep; he could make out her face in the near darkness, her expression peaceful and her eyes closed, her soft eyelashes casting a delicate shadow across her face.

He smiled as he watched her. He loved having her here, being the one to put her to bed and watch over her. He envied Brooke being able to do it everyday, but she was generous about the weekends; she let him have Amy almost every weekend that he didn't have an away game.

He looked around Amy's room; he couldn't believe she was nearly seven. So much had happened since he and Brooke had been preparing for her arrival, but in some ways it seemed like no time at all…

"Ugh! I hate being pregnant." Brooke flopped down on their bed, kicking off her shoes. Lucas turned round from his desk and smiled sympathetically. "Are you still getting morning sickness?"

"_It's now afternoon and evening sickness. And also, I think I might have a stretch mark!"_

"_Oh how terrible."_

"_I know!"_

"_I was being sarcastic," he said chuckling, as he came over the bed. _

"_Well I wasn't!" She moved over and he lay down next to her, propping himself up on one elbow and resting his hand on her stomach, running his fingers over the curve that was beginning to form._

_She placed her hand over his and her expression softened. He leant over and kissed the side of her head. "Have you felt it kick yet?" he asked, his voice appropriately quiet for the fact that he was right next to her ear._

"_No, I would've told you!"  
_

"_Just checking! Do you think it's a boy or a girl?"_

_Brooke considered, "Maybe a boy."_

_Lucas nodded slowly, tracing his fingers over her skin. "I think it's girl."_

_Brooke rolled her eyes. "Just to be difficult." _

_Lucas chuckled. "No I really do! And I bet she has brown eyes."_

"_No, I hope they're blue."_

_Lucas shook his head slowly, his lips against her hair again. "I hope she looks just like you…"_

Lucas smiled to himself as he looked at Amy. After all, it wasn't often with Brooke that he got his way.

* * *

Brooke Davis yawned and rubbed her eyes as she read the sheet in front of her. After a couple of minutes she gave up, and stood up from the table, twisting her hair into a bun as she went to the fridge. 

Pouring herself a glass of juice she returned the carton to its place and headed out of the kitchen, flicking off the light on her way out. She sighed as she passed her daughter's room; she still missed her when she wasn't there, even though she really should be used to it by now.

Unable to face evening rituals such as brushing her teeth and getting changed just yet, she flopped down on her bed and turned on the TV, finding an old Friends re-run to keep her entertained. She picked up her phone from her bedside table where she had left it earlier, and saw she had a couple of messages. She rolled her eyes as she listened to Tish going on and on about the party they had been at earlier, and how Brooke really should have stayed.

The next one was from Carrie, congratulating Brooke on cutting out early and moaning about how she had had to talk to 'the most boring guys in the world' about the stock market for half an hour. Brooke smiled to herself as she dialled Carrie's number. It was picked up immediately.

"Oh hey, what's that, an emergency? Give me one second…"

Brooke waited as she heard noises in the background, and then her friend returned. "Oh my god thank you so much for calling! Seriously I do not know how I get sucked into those conversations!"

"Caz why don't you just leave?" Brooke asked chuckling.

"I am, I'm going right now. Jesus is it just me or are people actually getting duller?"

"It's not just you. Although, I think it's just the people at those parties."

"So rich people? Yeah I think you're right."

"You're rich Carrie."

"And so are you! Wow maybe we're both really boring."

"I think it's just the bankers and stuff. The _really_ rich people."

"Who sadly we have to talk to so they give us money to fund our various creative and devastatingly interesting projects."

"Exactly. Speaking of, how's it going? Are you going to get this production company off the ground or what?"

"I don't know…oh hang on…sorry, just getting a cab. I might have made a break through but…well I'll tell you about it soon, it might be nothing."

"How mysterious."

"So what are you doing? Is Ames with Luke?"

"Yup, I'm here on my own watching Friends."

"Ooh which episode?"

"The one where Chandler proposes."

"Oh cute! Although he looked weird in the episode."

"Ugh, I know. Anyway, are we having lunch tomorrow?"

"Yup, and did you say something about Hales being in town?"

"Next weekend."

"Oh yeah, okay well then it's just us. Unless…Trish?"

"No way, she's so annoying Carrie!"

"You really should be nicer to your co-workers B, no one likes a bitch!"

"Hey! I am so not a bitch!"

"Yeah sure…" Carrie giggled. "Although I agree, she's a tad annoying. So I'll see you at…one?"

"Make it twelve, I have to do some work in the afternoon."

"Okay, see you then babe."

"Yup, bye Carrie."

When she'd plugged her phone into its charger she turned back to the TV. The episode was almost at an end, at the emotional last scene with candles and crying etc. Brooke sighed as she contemplated switching channels. But she smiled a little to herself and didn't; she knew if she was going to she would have already. As soon as she'd seen which episode it was she'd realised what was coming: inevitable memories…

"So that went pretty well," Brooke said, leaning her head against Lucas shoulder as they walked down the street.

"_Yeah it did. Anyway it doesn't really matter what Dan thinks."_

"_I guess, but it's good to know he's on board, at least this kid is going to have one grandfather…"_

"_Brooke why don't you just call them?"_

_Brooke shrugged. "It's only been a couple of weeks… I will soon. Anyway it doesn't matter right now."_

_Lucas stayed silent. Tonight wasn't the night to discuss that._

"_I'm still so relieved your mom didn't freak out," Brooke said. _

"_Me too, she actually seemed really happy."_

_Brooke smiled. "She's going to be the youngest grandmother ever…"_

"_Yeah I don't think she's going to like being called a 'grandmother'."_

_Brooke giggled. "Well that's not surprising considering she's not even forty!"_

_Lucas chuckled and Brooke suddenly looked around them. "Broody…front door?" They were heading round the side of Lucas' old house. Lucas shrugged. "It's such a nice evening, we could sit outside for a bit."_

_Brooke shrugged. "Okay. Is Karen home?"_

"_No, she and Andy went out."_

_Brooke nodded slowly, feeling slightly confused. They sat on the back steps, looking up at the stars, which were oddly bright. Or maybe it was just because they were used to the night sky in the city, where the lights dimmed the effect._

"_God it's beautiful…" Brooke whispered. Lucas wrapped an arm round her and kissed the side of her head. She looked up at him and smiled. "I love you."_

_He smiled back, kissing her softly. "I love you too, so much. And…I have something I want to ask you."_

_She nodded, and then looked down as she noticed he was holding both her hands in his, his thumb gently rubbing the ring on her right hand that he had given her two years ago._

"_It's something I've wanted to ask you for a really long time…and maybe the timing has something to do with…recent events, but I want you to know that the reason is not to do with that."_

_Brooke opened her mouth slightly, her breath catching in her throat._

"_The reason is that I love you. That's the simplest way I can put it; I love yo, more than I could ever say, but I think that you might know…because I don't think you could make me feel like that if you didn't feel it too."_

_He saw her smile even as tears began to form in her eyes._

"_So I want to ask you this because of that; because I can't imagine my life without you and I don't want to; because you're **it** for me."_

He reached into his pocket and shifted slightly so he was on one knee on the lower step, still facing her. He opened the little red velvet box and heard her intake of breath. He waited till she looked back into his eyes.

"_Will you marry me?"_

_A smile broke across her face as the first tears began to fall. "Yes!"_

_He smiled as he met her lips, cupping her cheek as she kissed him. When they broke apart he took the ring out of the box and gently slid it onto her finger._

"_Lucas…this is so beautiful. When did you…?"_

_Lucas smiled. "Um…I've kind of had it stashed away for a little while."_

"_Saved for the day when you knocked me up?"_

"_Hey, were you not listening? That is not what this is about."_

"_I know, I was kidding! And yes, I was listening, although I was kind of freaking out at the same time, it was beautiful."_

_He smiled and she looked down at the ring again, tracing her finger over the band and stone. "Seriously when did you get this?"_

"_Well before that one," he said, nodding to her other ring. "I er…saw it when I was Christmas shopping that year," he explained, as she looked up with raised eyebrows, "And it just seemed to perfect too let it go."_

_Brooke smiled and looked back down at it. "God it is." She leaned up and kissed him again. "This was amazing Lucas."_

"_I was going to do candles and everything," he said, standing up and pulling her up too, "but then I figured that the stars would be beautiful enough."_

_Brooke smiled as she looked out at the sky, and Lucas turned round and opened the door going back into the house. He smiled as Brooke turned and gasped._

"…_but then I thought, you only get to do this once, and I think you're worth a little trouble…"_

_There were candles everywhere. Over every surface, all glittering and casting their light around the hall. Rose petals covered the floor, and there were single long stemmed ones on the furniture. Brooke's favourite flowers stood in vases in amazing collections._

_Brooke remained open mouthed as Lucas pulled her into his arms, wrapping them round her from behind. He followed her as she slowly went inside, before turning to face him._

_She simply shook her head, at a complete loss for words, before she suddenly through her arms round him, laughing as he hugged her._

Brooke smiled sadly as the episode came to an end, with Monica and Chandler slow dancing quietly. She lifted a hand and slowly wiped a single tear from beneath her eye.

It was okay to think about him sometimes.

* * *

_**Please review!** Cause if you don't they'll be stuck apart forever...  
__I'm always really nervous about new stories, and since I've kind of done a one eighty with the storyline I hope everyone likes it! There's lots of good stuff to come, flashbacks (all will be explained…) and maybe a few 'chance' meetings to get things started…_


	2. Baby Scott

_Helloo my lovelies! Thank you all so much for your reviews, I love them! Now many of you said you wanted them back together, of course, but, it's all about the **ride** people! I did say the title was derived from the song 'The Long and Winding Road' ; )_

_**Author's note:** Flashbacks will not necessarily go exactly in order, but vaguely so, although in later chapter there will be some memories which are from earlier in their relationship._

_On we go!_

**Chapter Two: Baby Scott**

"So thanks so much for this man, I've only ever been to New York a couple of times before and it's always a little daunting…"

The guy, whose name was Leo, trailed off as he looked around at the smart entrance to Lucas' apartment block.

"It's no problem, glad to be able to help out our new star transfer," Lucas smiled and the younger guy blushed. "If I hadn't been to NYU transferring to the Knicks would have been scary," Lucas continued, "I was lucky – when I first came to New York I had…an old friend to show me round." Lucas covered his short hesitation, and Leo didn't seem to have noticed.

He nodded. "That's cool."

Lucas smiled to himself as they stepped out of the elevator; Brooke's tour of New York had been pretty cool.

He opened the door to his apartment and threw his keys on a nearby table, "Let me just grab my wallet and then we can head out."

Leo nodded again. He really needed to stop being nervous around his team-mates, he kept forgetting he was one of them now. Digging his hands in his pockets he looked around the large living room, his eyes drifting to a shelf of framed photographs. He went over to them but snapped round as he heard Lucas re-enter the room. Lucas just smiled and Leo looked back at the photographs.

"Who's this?" he pointed to a picture of Amy and Lucas' smile widened. "That's my daughter, Amy."

"She's gorgeous. So are you married?"

Lucas slipped on his jacket. "No, Amy's mom and I are separated."

Leo nodded and continued looking along the row of photographs. Lucas rolled his eyes good-naturedly and pre-empted more questions. "That's my brother," he said, pointing to one of Nathan and Haley, "And his wife. And that's my girlfriend Emma. That's my mom and…my ex-wife."

Leo gave a slow nod, his eyes lingering on the photo of Brooke and Karen for a second, before he quirked an eyebrow.

"Shall we go?" Lucas asked, grabbing his keys.

"Sure."

* * *

Lucas ran a hand through his hair as he entered his apartment and slipped off his jacket. "Emma?" he called out, wondering if she was home. He went into the kitchen where there was a note on the counter:

_Got a late meeting, back 8/9 love Emma x_

Shrugging slightly he went over to the fridge and got out a bottle of beer, before heading back into the living room and flopping down on the large couch. Man this city was tiring.

At least Leo was a nice guy; the team wasn't exactly short of egomaniac-jerks.

Lucas' eyes drifted to the photos on shelves and then to the DVD recorder, where the date shone next to the time: 3/1

Well he was going to think about it at some point. March 1st – the day he and Brooke had got married…five months before Amy was born.

Brooke came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped round her, and sat on the edge of the bed as she pulled her wet hair back and tied it up to keep it off her neck. She felt arms wrap round her and lips against the wet skin of her shoulder, and turned to smile at Lucas.

_He was sitting on the bed behind her, still in his T-shirt and pyjama pants. _

"_Hey gorgeous," he murmured, returning her smile. "Are you ready for today?"_

_Brooke nodded, her smile widening. She turned slightly so she was facing him, her hand resting on his leg._

"_And you're sure you don't want to wait?"_

_Brooke shook her head. "No. I've got the dress, and the church is beautiful. And I only wanted our close family and friends – everyone I love. It'll be perfect."_

_Lucas nodded. He was sad they couldn't have the big wedding he knew Brooke had always wanted, but Brooke wanted to get married before she had the baby, and she really seemed happy with the small wedding they'd planned. 'As long as you're there I don't care,' she'd said._

_Brooke leaned up and kissed Lucas softly, gently cupping his cheek._

"_I've gotta start getting ready."_

_Lucas pouted. "Right now? We have ages."_

"_Well it'll take a little while to look all pretty for you."_

_Lucas pulled her closer to him. "You look beautiful already." He kissed her again and Brooke smiled._

"_Unfortunately I can't walk down the aisle in a towel."_

"_Mm, unfortunately." He moved his lips to her shoulder and Brooke caved, turning a little more and straddling his lap, her towel riding up her thighs. He trailed kisses up her neck and caught her lips, her tongue meeting his as she lifted a hand to his face._

_She leaned into him, pushing her tongue a little further into his mouth. He slid his hands up her legs, his thumbs brushing the top of her thighs. Brooke pulled back gently, stopping his hands with her own._

"_I've gotta go."_

_Lucas gave a little whimper and she smiled. "Save it for tonight."_

_He stuck out his bottom lip but then nodded. "Okay."_

_She climbed off him, and he caught her hands, pulling her back for one more kiss. " I'll see you later," he whispered._

_She grinned, and he grinned back. The next time they saw each other it would be from opposite ends of the church.  
_

_When the time finally came - after Lucas had come down the aisle himself, and his mom with Keith, and Haley, Nathan, Peyton and Jake - and the doors opened, Lucas understood what she'd meant._

_She was there, and that was all that mattered. He knew immediately there was no way he would be able to take his eyes off her again; the rest of the church and congregation disappeared. It was just her._

_When the vicar said 'you may kiss the bride', and he could touch her face and feel her lips, smiling against his, it was the best feeling in the world. Because she was his; because she was there with him because she wanted this as much as he did; because she was kissing him back. Because he knew she would always kiss him back. _

Today would have been their seventh anniversary. Their first had been a lot of fun; Brooke had always loved planning special occasions.

But their second was overshadowed by their problems, and Lucas couldn't remember if they had even recognised it. And they didn't make it to their third.

Setting his beer down on the side table, Lucas stood up. With a slight sigh, he went to go and start making dinner.

* * *

Brooke helped Amy out of the bath and wrapped a towel round her like a blanket, getting another to go round her hair. Amy went out into the hall and down towards Brooke's bedroom, the end of the towel trailing on the floor behind her. Brooke followed, chuckling, and Amy climbed onto the bed, settling herself against the pillows in her cocoon of towelling. 

Brooke sat next to her, wrapping an arm round her and rubbing her arm.

"Can we watch TV?" Amy asked.

"Can we dry your hair first?"

"Can we watch TV first?

Brooke rolled her eyes, standing up and getting the hair dryer out of her dresser, "No, come on, you'll get cold."

"But I thought blow drying was bad for your hair? Isn't it better to let it dry naturally?" She stood up on the bed and pulled the towel of her head, shaking out her hair.

"Have you been reading my Cosmos?" Brooke asked, eyes narrowed. "And what's really bad for you is standing round with wet hair till you get sick. Get over here."

"Fine." Amy jumped off the bed and sat on the stool of Brooke's dressing table, and Brooke switched on the hair dryer.

"It's so loud," Amy yelled.

"Well it's gotta be."

"Why?" Amy shouted back louder.

"Don't try and compete with it Ames otherwise it'll just have to get louder," Brooke threatened, smiling as she switched the power higher.

"NO!"

Brooke laughed and turned it down again, picking up a brush and running it through her daughter's hair.

When they were done Brooke flicked off the dryer. "Now get your pyjamas on and we can watch some TV.

"Okay," Amy said ploddingly, and stood up, taking her other towel with her.

"And hang that up!"

"Look mom I'm like a bride," she said, holding the white towel to the front of her head as she went out the room, letting it fall behind her.

Brooke laughed and sat down on the bed, turning on the TV as she waited for Amy to reappear. She flicked through the channels and then went to the TV guide to see if there were any good movies later.

"Huh." She looked at the date on the onscreen guide. "Weird coincidence."

Amy came in in her pyjamas and climbed up onto the bed. "What's up mom?"

Brooke shook herself slightly. "Nothing. What do you want to watch?"

Amy shrugged. "Did you wear a veil at your wedding?" she asked.

Brooke turned to her questioningly. "Yeah. Why?"

Amy shrugged again. "Just wondering. I've never seen a picture."

"There are some," Brooke said defensively.

"Was I in your tummy when you got married?"

"Yup."

"What if you'd given birth while you were in the church?"

Brooke laughed. "Well it would have been a little early. You were still very very small then."

"But I was small when I was born. I still am small."

"Even smaller."

"Wouldn't it be easier if baby's were born when they were smaller? Then they could just come out without all the pushing and stuff."

"You've been watching too much ER."

"Does it hurt?" Amy asked, carefully dodging a conversation about the TV shows she watched.

Brooke laughed at Amy's worried face. "Not too much."

Amy narrowed her eyes. "I bet you're lying. I'm never having a baby."

"But what if I want some grandchildren."

Amy wrinkled her nose. "Someone else can have them!"

"Luke can't you do it for me!" 

_Lucas almost laughed at his wife's semi serious request, but he knew she would hit him if she did. He wasn't allowed to smile while she was in so much pain; they had established that earlier._

"_You're doing really well Brooke, it'll only be a little longer."_

_The doctor lifted his head. "Right we need another big push."_

"_But I'm tired."_

_Lucas squeezed Brooke's hand. "Just a few more. Come on Cheery, you're the most energetic person I know."_

"_Well giving birth has a tendency to suck the cheeriness out of you Luke!"_

"_One more push!"_

"_Brooke the head's almost out!"_

"_Keep pushing!" the doctor called._

"_It's coming…"_

_Brooke gave a sigh and collapsed on her pillows. Lucas had let go of her hand and was standing at the end of the bed, his mouth slightly open. The room was full of the cries of a baby._

"_She's here Brooke."_

_Brooke's eyes widened, and she gasped. "It's a girl?"_

_Lucas met her eyes and nodded. "Yeah."_

"_Dad, would you like to cut the cord?"_

_Lucas turned to the doctor, who was holding out surgical scissors. Lucas took them, and carefully cut the cord of skin connecting mother and baby._

_A nurse carefully lifted the baby and cleaned her a little, wrapping her in a pink blanket. She handed her carefully to Lucas._

_Lucas' expression was one of complete wonder as he sat on the edge of Brooke's bed holding their baby. He stroked the side of her head with his thumb, before gently placing her in Brooke's arms. _

_Brooke supported her in one arm, touching the side of her face lightly. "Hi baby," she whispered._

_Lucas stroked Brooke's hair, placing a kiss on her head._

"_Do we have a name?" the nurse asked._

"_Not yet," Brooke said. "Just Baby Scott."_

Brooke stroked Amy's hair with the hand that was round her shoulder. Amy had flicked through the channels and settled on an episode of ER, using her mother's temporary distractedness as an excuse to get away with it.

The phone suddenly rang and Brooke reached to get it, idly moving her hand over Amy's eyes at the same time as an image of some particularly gruesome surgery came on the screen.

"Mom!"

Brooke ignored her daughter's complaint and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Brooke."

"Lucas, hey, what's up?"

"Last weekend Amy said she wanted to see the new Wallace and Gromit movie at the cinema and I said I'd take her, and she said something about Mandy wanting to go too, but on Friday...did she mention any of this to you?"

Brooke chuckled. "Um, no, but it's okay. That would fine, do you want to pick her up from school then?"

"Yeah, I guess that would be easiest."

"Okay. Do you want to talk to her? She's right here."

"Yeah, sure."

Brooke handed the phone over to Amy, "It's dad," she said, and Amy grinned and took it.

"Hey Daddy!"

"Hey baby girl. What're you up to."

"Me and Mommy are watching…um, Spongebob."

"Uh huh…and what episode would that be?"

"Er…Spongebob's had a fight with Mindy because she, uh, stole his patient…in the… underwater hospital."

"Amy Karen Scott, you are a terrible liar."

"It's true!"

"Okay. Well I'm just here to say goodnight, I don't want to interrupt you from Spongebob getting life saving heart surgery from Dr Benton."

"Daddy what are you talking about? There's no Dr Benton in Spongebob. And anyway, this is season eight, so there isn't even Dr Benton in ER."

Lucas chuckled. "Okay, now I'm just confused. Anyway, goodnight Ames."

Amy grinned. "Night Daddy!"

Brooke took the phone again. "We just happened to be flicking through the channels," she said, and heard Lucas laugh on the other side.

"I don't mind really. Maybe it'll persuade her to be a doctor rather than a make-up artist."

Brooke smiled. There was a slight pause. "Okay, well I'll see you…week after next then."

"Yup." Lucas hesitated. "Okay, good night."

"Night Lucas."

Brooke placed the phone back on the side table, and wrapped an arm round Amy again. It was odd, for a second there she wanted to say something about what day it was…but then what would she say?

And anyway, he probably hadn't remembered.

_Aw, writing about the wedding and everything made me kinda sad that I've torn them apart…but oh well!  
__Next time: the break up, the heartache, and in the current time, coffee works it's magic…_


	3. Coffee works it's magic

_Thank you for the reviews, you guys rock! I'm still all a flutter from the cuteness of Wednesday's episode, so I was in a very BL mood when I sat down to finish this chapter, and got it all done! Hope you like it…_

"Tess do you want sugar?" Brooke called from the counter of the coffee shop across the road from where she worked.

Her friend shook her head, and Brooke returned with her mug and some sugar for herself.

"So, you can totally tell me to butt out, but I wanted to ask…you were married to Lucas Scott? The basketball player?"

Brooke smiled slightly. Tess was a new friend; Carrie had introduced them a few weeks ago and they'd really hit it off. It felt like she'd known her for years but of course she hadn't, which meant Tess hadn't been through the whole saga of Brooke and Lucas.

"Yes."

"And he's Amy's father?"

Brooke nodded again.

Tess paused for a second, and Brooke smiled inwardly, wondering how long it would be before Tess' curious streak got the better of her.

"So what happened?"

Brooke leant back in her chair. It was never usually put so bluntly. What had happened?

"We were too young," she began "We both had different dreams and we were trying to both pursue them at once and, inevitably, that didn't work. Lucas got placed in a team in Boston, which he wasn't very happy about, and so we all moved. But just before we left I'd been offered a job at Vogue from the aunt of one of our friends, which I then couldn't take because we were leaving." Brooke sighed and stirred her coffee.

"At first we were just so happy to be together with Amy that it didn't matter, but eventually we both got frustrated with our lives and…blamed each other. And we couldn't make it work."

"And so you separated?"

"Yeah. One day I just left with Amy. We were fighting all the time and I really cannot stand fighting with Lucas. It got too hard and I left." Brooke stood up and got a spoon to stir her coffee.

Tess was still watching her when she sat back down. "What, just like that?"

Brooke shrugged, she didn't really want to talk about that exact night…

_"We agreed weeks ago we were going to go out tonight! Couldn't you just speak to your coach and - "_

"_Brooke, a practice is a practice. None of the other players are allowed to just skip training sessions."_

"_Well none of them have wives and daughters they're meant to be taking out!"_

"_Yeah, well that's a different problem…"_

"Lucas, come on! You said you were going to try!"

"_And I am trying! I'm trying to work harder so I can get us out of this place! Back to New York, you know, that city you want to be in so much, the one I made you leave?"_

"_Lucas…" Brooke sighed, "It wasn't like that. I was upset the other day, I didn't mean - "_

"_Sure you didn't," he said sarcastically, "You know I don't see why you should put up with your dead-beat husband when he's just keeping you from your dreams."_

_Brooke could felt her eyes grow hot."Can we please just stop doing this?"_

_A loud cry came from the bedroom and Brooke glared at Lucas. She didn't even need to say 'Now look what you've done'._

_Lucas started towards the room, but Brooke stopped him. "No, I'll get her."_

_He watched her go into the little room and turned away, frowning. Brooke came out a few minutes later, holding Amy in her arms. "It's okay baby, it's okay." She held her on one hip, stroking her head._

_Lucas watched them both; the two girls he loved most in the world and the two that were tearing his life apart._

"_I'm going to go for a walk," he said, "Since you obviously don't need me here." He turned and opened the door to the apartment. _

"_Luke!" Brooke called after him, but he'd already gone, slamming the door._

_Amy started crying again._

_Brooke closed her eyes, feeling tears forming behind the lids. "Shh Ames, it's okay. It's okay…"_

_She started walking around the apartment, picking up baby toys that were scattered across the surfaces. As she did so, still rocking the baby in one arm, her anger grew._

_Why did they always have to do this? There hadn't been a week since they arrived where they hadn't had an argument, and it was usually two or three. She went into Amy's room to dump the toys, and caught sight of a suitcase; one of the ones still left over from the move._

_Maybe they just needed a break?_

_Before she'd really thought about it she went over to the cot and laid Amy in it, then turned to the suitcase, and tipped out the jumble of books and files packed inside._

_Going to her room she grabbed a pile of clothes, and then her washbag from the bathroom. In Amy's room she took her favourite toys, and a stash of all the supplies she needed. She threw in her purse, and then paused. _

_Lying on the back of the chair was Lucas' old grey hoody, that he'd given her just before college. Brooke closed her eyes for a second. They just needed a break._

_She picked up Amy, who had fallen asleep, and left the apartment with the suitcase, catching a cab on the street outside, and leaving the sweater on the back of the chair._

Tess watched her friend. It was obvious Brooke was still scarred by that time; she had had no idea her friend even still thought about it.

Brooke turned back to face her, and continued, "I went to stay with Carrie in New York, and gradually we worked things out..."

_Brooke called Haley after a week, and when she had finally persuaded her to promise that she wasn't going to tell Lucas where she was, and that this really was for the best, Haley agreed that she would help._

_Brooke drove to their apartment with Amy, and then Haley and Nathan went to visit Lucas, taking Amy with them so she could see her dad. Brooke couldn't face seeing Lucas herself, but she knew it was unfair if she kept Amy from him; they had both been responsible for this break-up._

_She repeated this every weekend, taking Amy to Haley, who would take her to Lucas._

_Meanwhile she was getting her life back on track. She got a job at Vogue; an intern position but it was still a great foothold. Carrie shared the care of Amy with her, and Peyton came with Jake to stay in New York for a bit, under the pretence that they were thinking of moving, but really to support her friend._

"So how long did that go on for?" Tessa asked.

"Um…six months."

"Wow."

"Yeah…"

"So what made you finally see him again?"

Brooke smiled slightly. "I spoke to a friend…"

_Brooke knocked on the door, and waited, smiling as Amy clutched her hand a little tighter as she climbed the last step._

_The door was opened by Nathan, who smiled when he saw them both. "Hey Brooke, come on in. Hey Amy! Wow did you walk all the way from the car?"_

_Amy nodded, grinning at her uncle._

_"How are the teeth? Got any more in the last two weeks?"_

_Brooke chuckled. "Yeah we had a bit of a spurt didn't we Ames?"_

_Nathan smiled and looked up at Brooke. "I bet that was fun."_

_"Oh yeah, I don't think her dolls agree though, now that their heads have all been chewed!"_

_They made their way into the living room, where Haley was working at the desk. "Hey Brooke! I'm sorry I'm just in the middle of this paper but…" she stood up and picked up Amy, "I have something for you…" she grinned and carried her into their bedroom, and Brooke smiled as she watched them go._

_"Do you want something to drink?" Nathan asked. "Or are you in a hurry?"_

_"Um, no actually I have some time."_

_"Cool, well come on." The two of them went through to the kitchen and Nathan started making some tea. "I'm glad you can stick around for a little bit, because we need to talk," he said, turning round and handing her a mug._

_Brooke bit her lip and leant back against a counter._

_"How long are you planning on keeping this up?"_

_"Nate, I know this must be so annoying for you. And I'm so sorry I have to use you like this; if you want I can get someone else to take Amy next week - "_

_"Brooke," Nathan interrupted, "That's not it. You know we love having her, and we're more than happy to help you guys…sort this out. No I'm thinking about my brother here…and about you. How long can you guys keep this up?"_

_Brooke looked down at her hands._

_"I know your life is getting back on track, and you're happier about your job and everything. And obviously, no one wants you and Luke to go back to how you were…but really…are you happy?"_

_Brooke gave an extended shrug. "Nate, I…okay I have to agree my heart's getting a bit of a battering but…would it be any better, if I talked to him?"_

_"Look, I'm not saying you have to get back together, because maybe you're right, you guys can't work together…but at least try and resolve things…give yourselves an ending if that's all it can be. He deserves that much."_

_Brooke nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay."_

_Nathan smiled awkwardly, and took a step towards Brooke, pulling her into his arms. "It'll be okay," he whispered. "We're all here for you guys."_

"So when you saw him again…that must have been really hard."

Brooke nodded, looking into her mug, "Yeah, it really was…"

_Brooke stood looking up at the green awning of Lucas' new apartment block. When she had agreed with Nathan that she would see him, she hadn't known that it would only take a ten minute walk to reach him._

_Lucas had just been transferred to the New York Knicks._

_And she couldn't help but think, maybe if they'd just stuck it out a little longer…_

_But she knew it wasn't true. Nathan had said that after she'd left Lucas had thrown himself into training. Apparently anger and a sudden expanse of time could work wonders for an athlete._

_She realized she was stalling, and made her way towards the double doors that led inside, heading for the elevator. She hadn't told Lucas she was coming, mainly because she couldn't face talking to him, and also because she'd thought she might not go through with it._

_The thought suddenly occurred to her that he might not be home._

_She was glad that she had not brought Amy, she wasn't sure how this would end._

_Her knock on the door sounded impossibly quiet, he probably hadn't heard it. She was surprised therefore when the door opened._

_There was a moment's silence. "Brooke."_

Brooke shook herself slightly, and blinked, looking back at Tessa. "But then gradually we worked it out so we could both share Amy and have our own lives too."

"So then he moved back here?"

"He got transferred; it was great. He'd always dreamed of playing for the Knicks and now it was even better because he could see his daughter."

Tess nodded slowly. "And now…?"

Brooke shrugged. "It's fine. We don't see each other much but we're on good terms. He has Amy most weekends and I drop her off."

"It's really good you guys could work it out." Tess paused for a minute. "My parents…they divorced when I was seven and after the proceedings were over they never saw each other again. My dad moved a couple of states away and in the holidays my mom would take me and my sister to the airport and my dad would pick us up the other end." She took a sip of her coffee, and bit her lip.

"It's probably nice for Amy that you guys are still…connected, a little bit."

Brooke smiled. "Yeah."

Tess refrained from commenting on the slight wistful note in her voice.

* * *

Lucas yawned as he stood in line, waiting for the cup of coffee that would hopefully revive him. Whoever thought up early morning practice should go to hell. Preferably after a long and painful death. 

The door opened and for some reason he turned, out of the corner of his eye he'd seen a certain shade and cut of deep brown hair…

"Brooke! Hey."

She saw him and smiled, delicately cutting in behind him in line. "Hey Lucas. What're you doing up here?"

"Some meeting with our promoters." She raised an eyebrow uninterestedly and he chuckled. "Yeah, exactly."

"Can I help you?" the server asked and Lucas turned. "Oh yeah, I'll have a latte and…" he glanced at Brooke, "A black coffee?" he said, slightly unsure.

She nodded and gave him a small smile.

"It didn't look like a caramel machiatto day," he said, a hint of a smile on his lips too.

"Have you got some time?" Brooke asked. "Where's your meeting?"

"Just a couple of blocks up, are you on your way to work?"

Brooke nodded. "But I can be late."

Lucas grinned. "The joys of being the boss."

"One of the bosses," Brooke corrected, with a serene smile.

Their coffees came and Lucas passed Brooke a packet of sugar before they headed to the door. Shivering slightly in the cold air, Brooke emptied it into her cup, fingering the packet for a second before she scrumpled it up.

"I'm going this way," Lucas said. "So you've got time for a walk or…?"

Brooke nodded. "Sure."

They began making their way up the street. Brooke sipped her coffee slowly and then turned to Lucas. "So how have you been?" He glanced over at her and saw she had a slight smile on her lips. The corner of his lips twitched. There was something slightly comical about the situation; a required awkwardness that was dissipated by the mutual acceptance of it.

"I'm good," he replied, catching her eye for a second but not saying anymore about it. "I had an early practice this morning, which was…you know, great."

Brooke grinned.

"And now I'm on my way to suck up to a load of old guys so they'll pay millions of dollars to stamp their names across our jackets."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "They actually make _you_ do that?"

Lucas shrugged. "Apparently they like to 'meet the team' so…"

"They send the star," Brooke completed, grinning again.

Lucas gave her a withering look. "The others will be there too. Well…some of them. They're not all the best with, you know, words and stuff."

"Well you always were good with 'words and stuff'."

Lucas shoved her lightly, and Brooke chuckled. "No it's cool, what better way to use a literature major than sweet talking old men."

"Oh because you're journalism one is going to _such_ good use."

"Hey I don't see you in a fancy office!"

"Well I don't see you on prime time TV so I think we both know who's won."

Brooke laughed and Lucas grinned. "Seriously. I'm the one earning a lot of money just to wear some name."

"Well people _pay_ a lot of money to wear my name."

"Not yours, Ralph Lauren's!"

"Whatever…the couture off-shoot has Mall and mine's names on the front of the catalogue!"

Lucas smiled, he remembered when he'd been sent the first on of those.

"Hey maybe Ralph Lauren should sponsor the Knicks…" Brooke was now deep in marketing thought.

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't think polo shirts go with baggy shorts."

"Well we might have to bring back the little shorts…"

Lucas raised an eyebrow at her and Brooke shrugged. "You gotta make some sacrifices. Anyway, I think they'd be a big hit with the female audience." She winked at him and Lucas rolled his eyes.

Lucas stopped as they came to the office block where he had his meeting. He hesitated for a second, and then asked, "You wanna meet me for lunch some day?"

Brooke raised her eyebrows slightly and he continued. "I mean…I only ever see you for like a minute on Saturdays…it's good to talk to you. You know, about something other than Amy."

Brooke was silent for a second and then nodded slowly. "Sure…yeah that would be nice. We will end up talking about Amy though."

He smiled. "Doesn't matter."

She smiled too. "Okay. Give me a call."

He nodded. "I will. I'll see you soon."

_**Please review!**_

_Next up: what happened that day after Lucas found Brooke at his door? And we go to work with Brooke!_


	4. What do you want?

_Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, I love you guys! I had just finished editing all this and then I lost it because I'm stoopid. So I did it again but I might have missed some stuff, so I hope it's okay. Okay, on we go…_

Brooke hummed to herself as the elevator rose through the 26 floors that were beneath hers. She was in a good mood because it was Friday and she was getting off early, so she could pick Amy up from school rather than leaving it to Alex, their nanny.

Alex was Brooke's favourite person in the world. Or almost. She was from New Jersey and had been looking after Amy for nearly four years, since she'd graduated. Brooke tried to rely on her as little as possible but there was usually a couple of hours every day between Amy finishing school and Brooke getting home from work where Alex came and looked after her.

But today Alex would be getting the afternoon off. Brooke thought about what video she and Amy could watch that evening as she headed towards her office. She had an urge to watch some old Nip/Tuck, but she thought Lucas would probably flip out if he found out Amy had watched that.

A pile of magazines greeted her as she sat down on her desk, and a second later there was a tentative knock and her assistant stuck her head round the door.

"I put those out for you because they have the new adverts for the Oxford shirts in them, and I thought you might want to see. I, er, turned down the pages."

Brooke smiled. "Thanks Pippa. I'll…have a look at them."

Pippa nodded and then hesitated for a second before backing out again, and shutting the door. Brooke smiled to herself and shook her head.

She sifted through the pile, pleased by the number. On top was 'Vogue', and Brooke felt the same little wave of nostalgia she always did when she saw the magazine.

She had loved working at Vogue but the environment was incredibly tough, and the more she experienced of the fashion world, the more she realized that was where she really wanted to be: in the middle of it, not writing about it.

When Amy started lower school Brooke quit Vogue and started working at her friend Mallory's new boutique. She helped run the business and her contacts meant they could push it into a wider arena. Then they had a break through when they met Ralph Lauren at a show, completely charmed him, and were eventually hired by his label. Brooke was in marketing and Mallory got hired as a designer. She created some unique pieces for one of their collections and Brooke was put in charge of advertising a new area of runway garments that would feature in the stores.

Now she was one of the joint heads of the entire 'image' department: it seemed fashion was one area where being young and a woman was a bonus rather than a hindrance.

Brooke flipped open the magazine and looked at the advert, a small smile on her lips. It showed a couple, the man the usual tall, good looking type, wearing a dark blue shirt with an open colour, that fitted him perfectly. He had his arms wrapped round the woman, who was slim but sexy, her hair pulled up in a bun and a cute smile on her face. She was also wearing a similar shirt, but in white, and without any pants. The caption read 'The New Oxford: Looks almost as good on you…as it does on her.'

The poster was a total success, and the marketing guys had loved her for the design. Brooke thought she should write a note to remind herself to thank Lucas…

_Brooke looked briefly in the mirror as she finished tying back her hair, and then headed over to her wardrobe, opening it to try and find something to wear. Deciding it was still too early to get dressed, seeing as it was Sunday, she shut it again._

_Her ears pricked up as she heard a faint sound that might be Amy, but then it was silent again except for the running tap in the bathroom and she relaxed. It was the first time in a long while Amy had slept through the night._

_"You know, I think they should get you in to advertise for Ralph Lauren," she heard Lucas say, sticking his head out of the bathroom._

_Brooke wandered in behind him, grabbing her toothbrush. "Why? The girl they have is really good. Although I did always want to be in their perfume adverts," she admitted with a grin as she put the toothpaste back._

"_No, they should use you to advertise those shirts," he said, inclining his head towards the white shirt she was wearing, that stopped mid-thigh and was open at the collar._

_She rolled her eyes at him in the mirror as she started to brush her teeth. He shrugged. "Well they always look better on you than they do on me." He kissed her hair and made his way out of the bathroom, leaving Brooke smiling after him._

Brooke smiled softly to herself.

The phone rang suddenly and she jumped slightly. She reached over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"What, no 'Brooke Davis' office'?"

"Wo, speak of the devil."

"What?"

"Nothing, I just saw something that reminded me of…never mind. Um…no, no 'Brooke Davis' office' because this is my private line Lucas, and only pretty close acquaintances have that."

"I should feel special, huh?"

"You'd better."

"Okay. Well I was calling to enquire if you could take time out of your _very _busy schedule to have lunch some day?"

"Right, sure. Hang on…"

"Checking your very busy schedule?" Lucas asked sarcastically.

"Well it might surprise you Lucas but I do actually have _quite_ a busy schedule. I mean I know it doesn't compare with that of an national sports start but…"

Lucas chuckled and Brooke smiled as she flipped through her diary. "You free Tuesday?"

"Yeah…like, two?"

"God I forgot how freakishly late you eat. How do you not get hungry?"

"Well I try to keep up constant snacking throughout the day."

"Stupid high metabolism. Okay, shall we go to 2 West or something?"

"Yeah, sure. So what are you doing?"

"Don't you have work to do?"

"You'd think wouldn't you? No, I just finished morning training."

"Coffee run?"

"Yup. Bet you were wish you were here right now."

"Are you in Starbucks right now? Damn you."

"Uh huh. It smells really good in here…."

"Lucas!" Brooke whined.

He chuckled. "Well I'd better leave you to your work."

"Fine," Brooke grumbled. "I'll see you on Tuesday. Actually tomorrow, for…"

"Right, yeah. See you then."

After she hung up Brooke sat in silence for a minute, chewing her thumbnail absent-mindedly. It was weird that she'd almost forgotten she would be dropping Amy off at his apartment the following day. As if she'd almost forgotten he was her ex-husband.

She shook her head and looked back at the magazines, setting them to one side and turning to her computer.

A little while later there was a knock on the door and Pippa came in again. She was holding something, and looked slightly confused.

"Um, this was just delivered for you."

Brooke raised her eyebrows and Pippa came forward and handed it to her. She nodded her head and then went out, leaving Brooke smiling at the hot cup of Starbucks coffee. She took a sip and set it down, biting her lip as she grinned and turned back to her work.

* * *

Brooke walked to pick up Amy from school; driving in New York was a nightmare she tried to avoid whenever possible and it was a nice enough day for late March not to have to take the subway. 

She'd walked this route many times before of course, and so when she passed the building she wondered why she'd never really noticed it before. Lucas had lived in that apartment block for about a year when he was first assigned to the Knicks. He'd never stayed in one place for long; the large open-plan apartment he shared at the moment with Emma had been his for only a year.

Brooke glanced towards the large mahogany doors as she passed by the green awning. She had carefully avoided thinking about the memory Tess had resurrected the previous week, but the sight of the building caused it to resurface once again…

_Brooke felt ice grip the back of her jaw, and spread down her throat and into the pit of her stomach._

_Lucas just looked at her, his eyes slightly wide and for once unreadable._

_She swallowed. "Hi."_

"_What are you doing here?"_

_Stiffening slightly at his cold tone she took a step forward. "I thought we should talk."_

"_Where's Amy?"_

"_She's with Nathan and Haley."_

_Lucas nodded curtly. He paused for a second, and then asked, "How are you?"_

"_Um…I'm okay." She hesitated. "Is it okay if I come in?"_

_He gave a slight shrug and moved away from the door, leaving her to close it behind her. It seemed to be an almost noticeable effort to move through the tension in the room._

"_Luke…"_

_He threw a glare at her, and she wished she could retract the name._

"_Can we talk?"_

"_I don't really see what there is to say."_

"_We have to talk about us! I mean maybe…maybe it could be better now - "_

"_Oh yeah, it's fine **now**!" His outburst surprised her. He saw her flinch and he turned away again before continuing, "Now that I'm sitting easy in an Upper East side apartment. Brooke come on, you walked out and you're coming back because I have money now?"_

"_Lucas it's not like that! We were stressed out before, and we were fighting - "_

"_Oh I see, as opposed to what we're doing right now which is…"_

"_Lucas I didn't even say I was coming back, I just wanted to…to see you."_

"_Well mission complete. I still look pretty much the same. You wanna take a photo or something so we don't have to do this again?"_

"_Luke, please. Please don't be like this."_

"_How did you expect me to be? You left Brooke. You took our baby and left while I was out. Did you even think about what it would feel like for me when I came back into that apartment and you were just gone?"_

_Brooke was silent, her eyes still pleading with him. _

"_Have you ever thought about that? About when I walked back in there…and I called out for you, and went to Amy's room…" Lucas trailed off, his voice catching. Brooke took a step towards him and Lucas flinched._

"_And then for a week, nothing. No-one knew where you were, you didn't even leave a note - "_

"_I was mad…"_

_Lucas nodded. "And you're a hot head, yeah."_

_Brooke bit her lip. "Lucas…I'm so so sorry that I did it that way. I just…I wouldn't have been able to leave you otherwise."_

_Lucas turned to look at her coldly. _

"_Well maybe then you should have thought more carefully about leaving me."_

_He turned away again and Brooke's face hardened. "Would you stop! You know it took two of us to destroy this relationship and if we have any chance of re-building it then you have got to stop this…ugh! Just stop making me feel so - "_

"_Bad? You ever think maybe you should feel bad! You took your daughter away from her dad Brooke!"_

"_Lucas - "_

"_No. You don't know what it's like growing up without a father, okay? Just having one person around the whole time, not being like any of the other kids at school - "_

"_Yeah but I do know what it's like growing up with parents who don't love each other!"_

_Lucas was silenced, and when Brooke met his eyes his expression had changed._

"_I didn't mean…" she began quickly, her voice calmer. "I just mean parents who were fighting all the time."_

_The same torn expression remained on Lucas' face, and Brooke felt something tug deep in her heart. _

"_I didn't mean that," she whispered. "I still…I still love you."_

_He stood looking at her, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her eyes still fixed on his. The silence hung in the air, and then suddenly broke. He stepped forward and his lips crashed into hers, her hand already on his cheek. Her tongue was in his mouth, and his senses were overcome by her taste, her smell, the feel of her skin as he slid his hands under and top and onto her back._

_His body was harder than she remembered. His arms stronger as he lifted her and she wrapped her legs round his waist. She slid her fingers through his hair and deepened the kiss still further, as he backed her against the door to his bedroom._

_Brooke woke slowly, and lifted a hand to her forehead, looking around her at the unfamiliar bedroom. She turned her face into the pillow, the memory flooding back to her with the all too familiar smell._

_She slid out of bed, finding her clothes and pulling them on, and running a hand through her hair. She padded into the kitchen, and stopped, biting her lip as she saw him standing at the counter with his back to her, reading the paper and eating a bowl of cereal._

_She approached him slowly, knowing he had heard her. She placed her hands on his sides and leant her forehead against the back of his shoulders, closing her eyes._

_He stiffened for a moment, and then gently took her hands, removing them before he turned round._

_He met her eyes, and she could feel tears already forming in her own._

"_What do you want to do?"_

_She was surprised by the question, and the low, almost whisper of his voice did nothing to loosen the tight knot that was forming in her chest._

"_I…I don't know."_

_Lucas's eyes dropped to the floor, though his expression remained impassive._

"_I think you should go."_

_Brooke's breath caught in her throat, and she felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach._

"_Luke - "_

"_You don't know what you want, and I'm not letting you do this to Amy, or to me." He paused, steeling himself. "Look, if you think it would be better for us to be apart, then maybe it would. I mean…" he looked around his apartment. "It's been getting better. If you want to separate then we could manage that."_

"_Lucas, I don't know - "_

"_And if you don't know…then I'm not risking it."_

_Brooke opened her mouth and then closed it slowly, nodding once._

_He swallowed. "It was good to see you Brooke."_

_She tried to reply but couldn't, so just nodded again. She looked at him for another second, and then left, wiping away her tears as soon as she'd shut the door behind her, leaving him standing in the kitchen._

Brooke wrapped her coat further round herself, pressing her lips together for a moment as she crossed the road to leave the block where his old apartment stood. She slid a hand inside her sleeve and could feel goose bumps under her shirt.

She remembered how she'd thought then she might have walked out of his life forever. She wondered if she'd ever really believed that; maybe in those few weeks before they met again.

In whatever way, her and Lucas Scott's paths were forever entwined.

The cool spring air cleared her head, and by the time she reached the gates of Amy's preppy little junior school, that day was a distant memory once more.

"Mom!" Amy broke away from the little group of her friends and ran towards Brooke, who knelt down to give her a hug.

"Check it out," Amy pulled up the sleeve of her jacket and shirt to display a graze on her elbow. "I played in goal in soccer today, and I did a dive!"

Brooke raised her eyebrows as she chuckled. "Um…great?"

"I know!"

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah." Amy turned and waved to her friends and then took Brooke's hand.

"Didn't you come in the car?" she asked as they came to the end of the street.

"Nope, we're going to have a nice walk."

Amy groaned. "Mom!"

"Hey, if you want to be an all star soccer player one day you can't complain about a little walk."

Amy grumbled something and Brooke chuckled. "Anyway, I don't want to play soccer. I want to be a basketball player like dad."

Brooke smiled.

"Or maybe a ballet dancer, I dunno." There was a pause. "Can girls play basketball?"

"Well if not I'm not sure what you do every Tuesday after school."

Amy rolled her eyes. "I meant properly."

"Sure. Girls can do whatever they want."

Amy smiled up at Brooke. "Yeah."

_**Please review!** You know I need them to survive – but more importantly to write! _

_**Next up:** Hmm…should I tell ya? Let's just say, picture parquet floors, and string instruments, maybe a chandelier, a couple of tuxes, maybe a canapé here and there…oh, and a balcony scene._


	5. His only Pretty Girl

_Hello my lovelies! Sorry it's been a bit of a wait, I had my GCSE mocks so I had to work (boo!) and also during study leave I got re-hooked on my first TV obsession, ER, cause of the Doug and Carol love fest that is season 5, that's been showing on More4 recently. But OTH clawed its way back into my heart because of the cuteness of this weeks episode, and the promo for next week (can you say HOTT!)_

_Anyhoo, here it is:_

Lucas ran a hand through his hair as he approached the maitre'd at West 2.

"Hi, I'm meeting someone here. Oh, she's there - " Lucas caught sight of Brooke at a table.

The guy nodded, raising his eyebrows and smiling at Lucas.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "My ex."

"Oh. Tough break."

Lucas smiled dryly and shook his head as he left and made his way over to the table. Brooke smiled as she saw him, and he leant over and kissed her cheek before he sat down.

"Hey, sorry I'm a little late."

"Oh that's fine," Brooke said airily.

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "You only just got here didn't you."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Like a minute before you."

Lucas smiled as he opened the menu.

* * *

"She threw a total tantrum the other day," Brooke said, smiling wryly as she speared a piece of pasta. 

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"You."

Lucas laughed, "What did I do now?" he joked.

Brooke shook her head, "She came into my room and she was going on about some pancakes you make or something…"

"Oh I think I know the ones she means."

"And she wanted some of these pancakes and I said you weren't here so she'd have to wait and have them at the weekend. Then she started screaming about everything: 'why isn't daddy here? I want him here. He should be here NOW'," Brooke imitated Amy's voice and Lucas laughed.

"What did you do?"

Brooke shrugged, "Sat with her till she calmed down. Eventually she tired herself out, and practically fell asleep. I was a little jealous though," she joked.

"You shouldn't be. Every night when I go in her room and say goodnight I get: 'does Mommy say goodnight too?' and I go 'yes,' and then I read her a story and she always pauses when I'm done and then she says 'Mommy reads it better.'"

Brooke laughed, "Well I am good with the stories."

"So I just try and make them really long so she falls asleep and I don't get my heart broken every night by my daughter telling me I don't do Mr Owl's voice right or something." Lucas chuckled at the thought and Brooke smiled.

"It's going to be worse when she's older. She's going to play us off each other for clothes and money and stuff."

"Er, Brooke? She does that already. Or do you not get, 'Daddy would buy it for me' every time you take her out!"

Brooke laughed, "No! Because I know you wouldn't, and so does she!"

"Hey, I don't want to spoil her."

"No me neither. I love it this way, she doesn't get spoilt, and I don't have to be the mean one," Brooke giggled and Lucas scowled at her.

"It's so unfair."

"Not really, she'd love you whatever you did. She worships the ground you walk on." Brooke was only half joking.

* * *

"So you were right," Lucas said, as he placed down his coffee cup. "We ended up talking about Amy." 

Brooke grinned. "Well I guess we'll have to catch up again some other time."

Lucas nodded, and indicated to a passing waiter. "Could we get the bill, please?"

The waiter nodded and Lucas turned back to Brooke.

"What have you got this afternoon?"

"Oh god knows. A meeting with…I was going to work on learning my schedule…"

"Got busy?"

"Yeah."

Lucas chuckled. "Well I'm sure it'll be scintillating whatever it is."

"I'm sure."

The bill came and Lucas took it, ignoring Brooke complaints as he tucked his credit card inside.

"Lucas this is the 21st century!"

"I don't care. Girls dig chivalry."

Brooke laughed out loud. "You're ridiculous."

"Anyway you paid for most of my meals in college - "

"Or my parents did."

"Right, when you still let them give you money."

Brooke fixed him with a glare and he held up his hands. "Sorry, I'm not…bringing anything up…" the waiter passed again and he handed him the bill and his credit card before turning back to Brooke. "Forget it."

Brooke shrugged. "Okay." It was silent for a minute and then she said quietly. "I had to cut the cord sometime Lucas. I would never have had any respect for myself if I'd lived off them forever."

Lucas nodded, and gave her a small smile. "I know."

* * *

"Any news?" 

Emma looked up from her newspaper as Lucas came into the kitchen on Wednesday morning. "In the world? Some, yeah."

Lucas rolled his eyes and Emma smiled. "They're debating the retiring age again."

"Great, how old do we have to be now?"

"I'm not sure the NBA recognises government legislation on that matter."

"Yeah, they kick us out when we're over thirty."

"So I guess it doesn't really matter for you either way?"

He chuckled. "I guess not."

"Um, Lucas, you know the benefit thing tomorrow?"

"Yeah…"

"I have to go down to Washington tomorrow morning - "

"There's gonna be a hearing?"

"Yeah, and Donald wants the whole team to go because we're going to have a lot of work to do so - "

"Yeah, totally. That's great."

"You don't mind? I know how you get bored at those things."

Lucas chuckled. "I can cut out early. You're gonna miss seeing me in my tux though."

Emma smiled. "I think I'll cope." She stood up, folding the newspaper, "I've gotta get off to the office, but I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah."

Emma started to head out of the kitchen but turned at the door. "Oh, how was lunch with Brooke yesterday?"

Lucas set down his glass of orange juice. "It was good. Yeah…nice to catch up."

Emma smiled. "Good."

* * *

"So you're not taking a date?" Carrie asked as she leant against the side in the large open plan area of Brooke's apartment. 

"No, I've got to spend the evening flirting with rich businessmen so I think it's best if I'm flying solo."

"Right."

"Thank you so much again Carrie."

"Are you kidding? Always a pleasure Brooke. And anyway, it's a good excuse for why I'm not out on a date tonight."

"It's only a thursday night!"

"So? I should be out painting the town red. But I'm tired and I wanna watch TV."

Brooke rolled her eyes as she slipped her phone into her purse.

"Okay, just remember Lucas' rules."

"Yeah, yeah, nothing innapropriate."

Brooke nodded and turned tocheck her reflection in the mirror by the door, adjusting the top of her dark blue gown.

"Ames!" Brooke called in the direction of Amy's room.

Amy appeared at the end of the hall. "Are you leaving now?"

"If you could just hide your happiness a little that would really make mommy feel better."

Amy grinned. "Sorry." She jumped down the few steps from the hall that led to their bedrooms, and ran over to Brooke, throwing her arms round her neck.

"Bye mom. Love you."

Brooke kissed the top of her head. "Love you too sweetie."

Amy detached herself and Brooke opened the door to leave. "See you guys later."

Carrie smiled at her as she shut the door, and then turned to Amy. "Okay, ER DVDs are in your mom's wardrobe, and cookie dough ice cream is in the fridge."

* * *

Lucas smiled and nodded as the man opposite him talked about…something. Usually he was pretty good at keeping track of a conversation, but this guy was just ridiculous. It sounded like he was doing a lecture about nuclear fission. For all Lucas knew, he could have been. 

A guy he'd known at NYU passed by, and smiled at him. Lucas nodded in his direction and then saw a couple who he'd met at one of these kind of events approach from the other way.

"Hi Lucas, good to see you."

"Yeah you too."

The man originally talking to him looked slightly perturbed to be interrupted, but continued none the less.

"Lucas, hi!" A news reporter who often covered their games passed by, and Lucas turned for a moment to talk to him. When the reporter moved on, his previous company had given up and gone, and Lucas sipped his glass of champagne as he wondered how long he had to stay.

"Hey Lucas."

He turned, surprised, and saw the owner of the voice standing behind him.

"Brooke! Hi."

She was wearing a gorgeous deep blue dress and she approached him now. "So what are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Appeasing our sponsors. Or trying to get new ones, I don't even know. How about you?"

She grinned. "Same. Mallory's got a new line and we want to do a small show, Ralph wants some different investors for it so we're not begging the others for more money."

Lucas nodded slowly and Brooke rolled her eyes. "Never mind."

He smiled. "Sounds interesting really. That was my interested face."

"Just a tip, but you might want to work on that if you're meant to be sealing the deal with the sponsors tonight." She smiled as he laughed and nodded. "Is Emma here?" she asked.

"No she's in Washington for a hearing."

"Wow."

"Yeah. I could tell you what it was about but I'm no better at understanding what she does every day than what you do."

"Right, well, I hope it goes well."

"Yeah, hopefully."

There was a second of silence.

"Well I've gotta go…talk to people," Lucas said, "Or whatever I'm meant to be doing here."

"Yeah, me too."

"But it's good to see you. I'm glad you're here; it'll give me an excuse to end some really boring conversation and come talk to you later."

Brooke smiled. "Okay. I'm gonna hold you to that."

* * *

Brooke stood out on the balcony, looking over the city and breathing in the cool night air. She talked to what seemed like half the guests already, and after a little while the endless air-kisses and small talk always got a little too much for her. 

She heard someone come out behind her, giving a small cough. She smiled slightly, recognising it immediately.

"Taking a break?" he asked.

"Something like that."

He approached her slowly, coming to a stop next to her.

"It's beautiful at night, huh?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. Sometimes I still feel like a tourist here."

"It was really good to see you the other day," he said after a second. "It's been a while since we…talked."

She looked at him and smiled. "Yeah."

_Brooke felt warm breath on the back of her neck, and turned her head to see Lucas' face, his eyes closed and his mouth set in a contented line. She felt the same grip on her heart she always did when she saw him these days; the inevitability of the situation jarring with her usual feeling of peace whenever she's around him._

_She turned over entirely so she was facing him, and reached out a hand to gently touch his cheek. She knew she should wake him, but she just wanted a few more minutes._

_Her eyes traced his features: his little nose and the curve of his lips, the rough angles of his jaw and his smooth forehead._

_She wished his eyes could be open, and she could stare into those bright blue pools as silently as the rest of his face._

_Before she realised it his eyelids fluttered and opened, and he blinked back at her._

_"Hey."_

_He blinked a couple more times and then a pained expression flashed across his face, and his closed his eyes again. She felt his hand on her waist though and he pulled her closer to him, leaning his forehead against hers._

_She nestled her face closer to his, and his fingers caressed her skin lightly beneath the sheet._

_She breathed in deeply, slipping a hand onto his shoulder even as she spoke._

_"Lucas…we can't keep doing this," she whispered._

_He opened his eyes and looked into hers. She met his gaze and looked at him sadly, urging him to understand. He was silent, and then slowly reached out and caught a tear that was about to fall from the corner of her eye. He nodded, looking down._

_Brooke closed her eyes, pushing back any more tears, and rubbed the top of his arm with her thumb._

_"We decided and so…if Amy found out it would just confuse her and…we can't do this properly if we're still…"_

_"I know."_

_He nodded again, and she bit her lip. She looked down but a second later felt his fingers on her neck, and he lifted her chin so her eyes met his._

_"One last time?"_

_His quiet voice sent a shiver over her skin, and she found herself nodding in agreement. Before she realised it she had met his lips in the middle, slowly, savouring it._

_She slid her hand to the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her so his tongue slipped into her mouth, and she ran her fingers into his hair. He ran his hand up her side, his thumb brushing the edge of her breast as he supported himself with his other arm, rolling her onto her back and lying over her._

_She ran her other hand up his chest, over the muscles that were rock hard now, and cupped his face, brushing her thumb along his jaw as he kissed her harder._

_The sex was slow and not like any other time in the last few months. He took time over her body, committing it all to memory. She ran her fingers over his skin, digging them in, trying to ingrain the feel of it in her fingertips._

They stood in silence for a few minutes.

"Do you ever think about us?" Lucas asked.

Brooke turned to him, blinking a few times.

"Ever wonder if it could have been different?"

"Yeah," she said, "Sometimes."

"Do you ever wish it had been?"

"Sometimes. But if it had been different it might not have been like this. You never know how things will turn out, I mean, I wouldn't trade in this for the chance that it might have been better. It's been okay."

Lucas nodded slowly.

"We have a beautiful daughter Luke, and things haven't been too rough with us. I mean, sure, there's some years when I wish I'd seen more of you but then there might have been other things in my life that I didn't do."

"You get wiser with age," Lucas laughed.

"I'd like to think I'm not that old!" Brooke said.

Lucas shook his head, smiling, "No, you're not, because that would mean I'm old," he paused, "In case I forget to tell you later, you look really beautiful tonight," he said sincerely.

"Thank you," she said.

They stood out there for a few minutes, not talking, but enjoying each other's company none the less.

"We should probably get back inside," Brooke said finally.

"Yeah, back to brown nosing bankers." Lucasplaced a hand on her back and gently guided herback inside.

They went their separate ways, both scoping out the well-known businessmen within the crowd. Lucas was talking to the head of a large Music company, discussing the Knicks' prospects, when he caught sight of Brooke across the room, flirting with an old man who he recognised as a major player in the oil industry.

He caught her eye and smirked at her, and she bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. She continued talking to the man, but glanced over at Lucas every few minutes, rolling her eyes when the man wasn't looking.

After a while Brooke finished talking to him, and sidled over to Lucas who was just shaking hands with the music man.

"Any luck?" Brooke asked as the man moved away.

"No. He seemed pretty interested but said he had lots of other investments at the moment. How about you?"

Brooke smiled, pleased with herself, "Oh well, you know, he just agreed to invest half the money we need for our new line, nothing too big," she joked.

Lucas narrowed his eyes, "That is so unfair!"

"Well Broody, some of have it, and some of us don't!"

"If you're talking about boobs, then you're right there."

"Hey!" Brooke hit him lightly on the arm.

"I'm kidding! You were always better at these social events than me."

Brooke smiled, remembering the ones they used to go to together. The band started playing a new song, and Brooke looked over there, "I love this song!" Brooke said.

Lucas knew she did, it was one they'd always planned to have at their wedding reception, but they'd never gotten round to having a proper party.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked.

She looked up at him, a little surprised, and Lucas fully expected her to decline. But she smiled shyly, and said, "Sure."

The went over to the dance floor and Lucas took Brooke's hand, slipping an arm round her waist and feeling her rest her other hand a little tentatively on his shoulder. Soon though she relaxed; the memories of hundreds of other dances came back to her, and she smiled a little as he held her a little closer.

"Who is that dancing with Lucas Scott?" an young woman asked her friend, on the other side of the ballroom.

Her friend looked up, "Um…oh, it's Brooke Davis."

"His ex-wife?"

"Yes."

"Oh so it is," she said, catching sight of Brooke's face. "I didn't know they were still friends."

"Well they have a daughter together, I heard they were quite amicable."

The first woman sniffed. "Is he still with that laywer?"

"I believe so, I think we would have heard otherwise."

"Well why isn't she here?"

"How should I know? Why, do you like him?"

Her friend gave her a scathing look, "Annabel, who doesn't. He's an NBA star, he's apparently the sweetest guy in the world and, well, he's gorgeous."

Annabel rolled her eyes, "Tamara if he broke up with Brooke Davis he's not going to ever be with you. No offence sweetie, you're beautiful, but look at her!"

"How do you know she didn't leave him?"

Annabel shrugged, "I don't. I suppose you're right. But anyway, it doesn't look like you've got much of a chance, even if he and Emma Woods are over." She indicated Brooke and Lucas, Brooke was laughing at something Lucas had said, and he was smiling down at her.

"It looks like Brooke's not quite out of the picture."

Tamara smiled, "Well I suppose they always did make a nice couple, I can't say I'd be terribly surprised."

* * *

"Well we've had a pretty good season so far, there was a couple of tough games but our new player, Leo, is really a great asset to the squad." 

The young businessman Lucas was talking to nodded appreciatively. "Yeah I saw his first game, he's doing well. It was nothing compared to yours though, I'll tell ya, that was a real cracker."

Lucas smiled. "Thanks, I had a little bit of beginner's luck."

"Hey, if all beginner's were like that the NBA would be a constant turnover."

Lucas was laughing as he saw Brooke standing a few feet behind the man. She caught his eye and gestured towards the entrance implying she was leaving, and then raised a hand as a wave.

He raised a hand back, and saw her smile and turn.

"Sorry," he turned back to the businessman, who glanced behind him.

"Friend of yours?"

"Uh, yeah."

A minute later the businessman moved on and Lucas made his way to the entrance, heading down the few steps at the front of the hotel and looking across the melee of people getting into cabs. The party was drawing to a close and there were many sleek black or silver cars drawing up to whisk their owners away.

He dug his hands in his pockets and looked through all the people for a minute, before slowly turning and heading back inside.

He'd see her on Saturday.

* * *

"Time to go to bed Ames." 

"Carrie! You're meant to be cool."

"Hey! I am cool. It's already past your bedtime."

"You're meant to be _really_ cool."

"Ames I'm not going to be bribed by a six year-old. I'm sorry sweetie, but you don't get to decide."

"Fine."

"Good, come on."

Carrie gently pushed her in the direction of her bedroom, and Amy got into her pyjamas and then went to brush her teeth.

Carrie sat on the edge of the bed as Amy got in. "Do you want a story?"

"Mommy's been reading Harry Potter to me."

"Oh awesome, shall I read another chapter?"

Amy hesitated. "My mom might not want to miss it."

Carrie smiled. "Okay." She reached out and stroked Amy's hair out of her face. "We can just talk kiddo."

"Okay," Amy agreed with a yawn.

"So, have you got a boyfriend?"

Amy bit her lip. "Maybe."

"Ames!"

"Kinda."

"Scandalous. What's his name?"

"Benjy."

"Ooh, hot. Like Ben McKenzie?"

"Yes Carrie. My boyfriend is the star of the OC," Amy said, rolling her eyes.

"You know you're way too old for your age."

"Mom says that too. But I'm not really. Like Benjy, he's not actually my boyfriend."

"See, that's what I mean."

"What? I'm accepting the fact that any relationship I have now probably won't last till I'm older, even though, officially, me and Benjy are already married."

"That's more like it. Standard playground ceremony?"

"Oh yeah. Yasmin performed it."

"Awesome. But still, you're way more mature than most _ten_ year olds I know…although, I don't know a whole lot of ten year olds to tell the truth."

"Mom says it's cause I was brought up round adults."

Carrie smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Although you had Jenny."

"Yeah."

"But she is six years older than you."

"And she has a cell phone."

"Right…which was my point…"

"And now there's Ellie, and Jack and Leyla too."

"Yep, you've got lots of little cousins now."

"Ellie's not my cousin officially."

"Ames you're not helping your case here."

"I like being old!"

Carrie smiled. "You won't forever kiddo!" She tipped her head on one side, "You ever wish you had a brother or sister?"

Amy hesitated. "I don't think so. I wouldn't want to share Mommy."

Carrie nodded. "Yeah, that could be hard."

"She says she likes that I have cousins now though, because she was an only child and sometimes she wished she'd had a brother or sister."

"Well it would be nice to always have someone to play with, but it's nice that it's just you and your mom too."

"And anyway, Mommy and Daddy aren't going to have another baby."

Carrie nodded slowly. "Yeah."

It was quiet for a minute and in the semi-darkness of the room Carrie couldn't make out Amy's expression.

"Carrie?"

Amy's voice was quiet.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want Daddy and Emma to get married."

Carrie felt something tug on her heart and she took Amy's hand. "Well they're not planning on it right now kiddo." She hesitated. "Would it be so bad though? If it would make your dad happy?"

"If they get married they'll have a baby. And then Daddy will have a new family."

"Amy you will always be a part of your Dad's family. And anyway, even if they got married they might not have a baby."

"Emma would want her own baby. Like Mommy has me."

Carrie bit her lip and didn't say anything for a second. Then she squeezed Amy's hand. "You're so special to your Dad Ames. Nothing and no-one could ever replace you in his heart."

Amy didn't say anything and Carrie leant down and kissed her forehead. "You're your mom's daughter Amy, you're the most precious thing in the world to him."

Amy nodded, and Carrie smoothed back her hair. "Go to sleep honey. You're mom will be home soon."

"Okay. Night Carrie."

"Goodnight…and I promise you Ames, you've got his heart."

She saw Amy smile and smiled too. Carrie sat on the edge of the bed as Amy closed her eyes and her breathing evened.

"You've got his heart," she whispered again, "You're his only pretty girl now."

_:tear: Hope you guys liked it! Now, seeing as this was like twice as long as the last chapter, logically it should get twice as many reviews, huh? Huh? Get to it!_

_And next up: we catch up with some old friends... yeah baby, it's N/H/J/P city!_


	6. See them Together

_So sorry there's been a gap since the last chapter, I've had a really crazy two weeks that I'm not going to go into, let's just say real life got a little drama of its own!_

_Congrats to all the fab peeps on the BL thread at Fanforum for reaching 500! And thanks for always being so great every time I swing by, even though I'm so inconsistent!_

_Here we go…_

"Uncle Nate!" Amy ran into the apartment and straight into Nathan's arms, who lifted her up above his head and then held her on his hip. "How you doing kiddo?"

"I'm great. This apartment is awesome."

"It's pretty cool huh?" Nathan grinned and then looked over at Brooke who had come in after Amy. "What do you think?"

"It's gorgeous."

Nathan let Amy down leaving him free to pull Brooke into a hug. He kissed her on the cheek. "How are you doing B?"

"I'm really good." She smiled. "How about you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Let's just say it's a good thing the apartment rocks, because it is going to be a _while_ before I move with Haley again."

Brooke chuckled and then a door opened onto the hallway and Haley came out carrying her six-month-old daughter in her arms. "Brooke! And Amy, hey guys!" She gave Brooke a one armed hug and ruffled Amy's hair. "Nate, thanks so much for all that help with getting the first lot of boxes in there by the way. Phew. Don't know how we could have done it without you."

"You didn't have to start yet! What do you think the task force is here for?" he gestured to Brooke and Amy, who raised her eyebrows sceptically.

Haley smiled and rolled her eyes, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "It's cool, I wasn't really doing much with them; Peyton rang and the only phone plugged in right now is in that room down the end of the hall."

"Jack's room?"

"I thought that was going to be the spare room."

"Guys, before you dragged us all over here to help you unpack it might have been a good idea to decide where everything was going to go…"

Nathan gave Brooke a look. "Don't go there."

"We _had_ decided," Haley said, "I had drawn plans and everything. Until someone decided the light was different to how he thought it would be and that we should rearrange everything."

"Like I said, don't go there," Nathan repeated.

Brooke laughed as the buzzer went, and Nathan went past her to answer it. Brooke heard Peyton's voice through the intercom. "Hey guys it's Peyton. And family…Oh and Luke's just arrived too! Okay we'll see you in a minute." She cut off abruptly just as they heard Jake greet Lucas.

"The others are here," Nathan stated helpfully.

"By the way, that's okay…that **he's** here, right?" he asked, turning to Brooke, but mouthing the word 'he' as Amy was still in the room.

Brooke nodded. "Totally fine. We had lunch the other day actually."

"You mean Dad?" Amy asked, suddenly looking up at her mother.

Brooke just smiled. "Yeah."

Nathan looked guilty and Brooke rolled her eyes. "Don't try to outsmart the six year old Nate. Where's Jack, by the way?" she asked, looking around for her godson.

"He's watching cartoons," Haley said, "We haven't got a working fridge yet, but the TV's fine!"

Brooke chuckled.

"I'm gonna get him actually." Haley disappeared and came back in a moment later with a little brown haired three year-old on her hip.

"People are here!" he said, grinning at Brooke.

"Hey, how's my little man?" Brooke took him off Haley, just as the door opened and Jake, Peyton and Lucas came in, along with Jenny and Jake and Peyton's younger daughter, Ellie.

There was a flurry of hugs and greetings. Nathan and Haley hadn't been in the city for almost a month so it had been a while since they'd last seen each other. And even though Jake and Peyton were only over the bridge in Brooklyn Brooke didn't get to see them as much as she'd like.

"Alright," Nathan said, as the greetings subsided, "We've got a lot to do and if my wife has to live much longer surrounded by boxes I think she might actually kill me." Haley gave him a sweet smile. "So…"

Jakr raised his eyebrows as everyone started to move. "Yeah, let's go!"

* * *

"So how's life for my favourite rock star?" Brooke asked Haley as the two of them stood in the living room putting books onto the shelves. 

Haley smiled. "Enjoying not being a rock star right now!"

"I guess it must be nice to have some more time to spend with the kids."

"_So_ nice. I had to be in the studio so much last month it's been great to have more time with them. Although, this move got in the way a little…"

"When are you going back on tour?"

"Next summer."

"Not till then?"

"Yeah, I don't want to go until Leyla's a little older. It would just be too hectic with a baby going from one hotel to the next…"

"Haley do you not remember Jack as a toddler?"

Haley gave Brooke a look. "Shh. I've blocked that out."

Brooke chuckled. "No, it'll be fine," she said reassuringly. "Nathan will be there."

"Yeah. Good thing I have the best husband ever."

Brooke smiled and nodded, and Haley suddenly felt awkward, realising how that must have sounded. She glanced sidelong at Brooke, but she had turned back to the shelves. Haley bit her lip but didn't say anything, and went to get another stack of books out of the box.

* * *

"Where do you want cooking utensils?" Lucas asked Nathan, as he set a box down on one of the counters in the kitchen. 

"Um…we'll hang some over there, and then I guess in this top drawer."

"Cool." Lucas started bringing them out, and putting them where Nathan directed. "What the hell is this?" he asked after a second, holding up a weirdly shaped metal object.

"That is a specialised apple corer."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Okay…"

"What? Still haven't learnt your way round a kitchen?"

"Hey! I grew up in a café, I know a hell of a lot more about cooking than you."

Nathan chuckled, "I wouldn't count on it anymore. I'm very good at this house-husband thing."

"Are you ever going back to work, man?"

Nathan shrugged. "Sure, some day." He saw Lucas' look. "I really don't feel any…calling or anything. I mean, I do work, with Haley's agent and stuff, and I'm still involved with Keith's business, but right now there's nothing I'd rather be doing than being a dad."

Lucas was silent for a minute and then nodded. "Yeah I know what you mean."

"Anyway, Brooke mentioned something about Carrie needing a partner in something, so you never know, I may be working sooner than I think."

"And when Hales' goes on tour again?"

Nathan just smiled at him. "I'll go with her."

* * *

Brooke opened the door of the room that had finally been decided upon as Jack's, to find him and Amy watching cartoons on TV. 

"Hey, Ames you said you were going to help!"

"We did!" Amy replied, "We got all of Jack's toys out of their boxes."

Brooke looked around the room and saw she was right; there were toys _everywhere_. "And then you didn't…you know, put them away?"

"Well we were pretty tired, so we took a break."

"It's after one…"

"Taking stuff out of boxes is really tiring…"

Brooke just rolled her eyes. "Okay, well we're having lunch now so the TV's gotta go off."

"It's almost over!"

"_Five_ minutes," Brooke said firmly, before leaving the room again.

"What are they doing?" Haley asked as Brooke came into the living room.

"Watching Dexter's Lab. It's almost over apparently."

Haley nodded. "That show always reminds me of you…something about Deedee…"

"Hey!"

Haley giggled as the doorbell rang. "Ooh, Chinese is here."

"See, you don't even need a fridge," Brooke said, as she followed Haley to the door.

"Do I smell Chinese?" Jake asked, coming into the kitchen as Haley and Brooke brought the food in.

"Yup, help yourself."

"Awesome, I am starving." He accepted a plate of Haley and began piling food onto it. "Nathan! Lucas! Food's here!" he yelled, and a moment later the two brothers came in, taking plates and filling them with food.

"Hey, where are you all going?" Haley asked with narrowed eyes as the guys all made their way out again.

They stopped and turned round. "We, er…want to get back to…sorting boxes," Lucas said.

"Dude, that sucked," Jake whispered from behind him.

"No you don't," Brooke said knowingly. "What sporting event is on today?"

"Er…nothing," Lucas said, not meeting her eyes.

"Nathan?" Brooke asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

Nathan mumbled something incomprehensible.

"You guys just missed the best touchdown," Jenny came into the kitchen and grabbed a plate, not noticing the guys' faces as they all winced at her words. "Oh, and mom wanted to know if there was any sweet and sour chicken."

When she didn't receive a reply Jenny looked up, still holding her plate. "Haley, Brooke, you missed most of the game! You should come and watch the last bit, it's been awesome." She grinned as she turned and left the room.

Haley and Brooke turning steely glares on the three men left in the doorway.

"So…what she was talking about there…" Nathan began.

"The game's been awesome, has it?" Haley asked.

"We really wouldn't know. It was just on…in the background…" Lucas trailed off.

"I think we'll just be taking this food now," Brooke said, taking the cartons on the counter and then Lucas' plate and making her way out of the kitchen. Haley followed, taking Jake and Nathan's plates too.

"Here you go Peyt," she said, as they entered the living room.

"Oh, thanks." Peyton accepted one of the plates as Haley and Brooke sat down on the couch on either side of her and began to eat.

The guys followed, open mouthed. "But…she was watching too!"

"Oh please! Like Peyt even understands football."

"Yeah," Peyton said, glaring at Jake. "Like I would have been watching this rather than unpacking boxes. As if Jake!"

Brooke and Haley gave each other a look. "Should we take her food too?" Brooke asked.

"Please guys, I'm hungry," Peyton pleaded.

"We do already have quite a lot," Haley said, looking at the cartons around them.

"I think we can let her off."

"But? What?" Nathan spluttered. "No! I want food!"

"Nathan if you go and get Amy and Jack from his room you can have some food," Haley said.

Nathan ran out of the living room.

"What about us?" Lucas asked, sticking out his bottom lip.

"Bring us some drinks," Brooke said.

"Ooh yes, I'd like some diet coke," Peyton said.

"Hey! You're still in trouble, you're not allowed to use the slaves."

"Jake?" Peyton asked, and he rolled his eyes and nodded.

"I would like some juice," Brooke said, "You may pick the flavour."

"I will have the same," Haley added. "With some ice."

"Oh, ice for me too."

"There isn't a freezer…"

"Well I guess you'll have to think of something."

Brooke smiled as Lucas left the room and then they all looked up as there was a yell from the hallway.

"Help! I'm being invaded by kids!"

The girls all laughed as Nathan came into the room, with Amy on his back and Jack on his shoulders, holding Ellie on one hip and with Leyla in his other arm.

"Would you guys help instead of laugh?"

"Guys! You're going to make your Dad fall over!" Haley said, still laughing.

"That's the idea Mom!" Jack yelled, bouncing up and down on Nathan's shoulders.

Nathan swayed dangerously and Brooke set down her plate and stood up, still laughing.

"Here, I'll take this one," she said, pulling Amy of Nathan's back. Haley took Leyla and Nathan gently set Ellie on her feet, before reaching up and extracting his son from his shoulders.

"Aw, the girls didn't hold on strong enough!"

"Neither did you!" Amy stuck her tongue out at Jack who did it back.

"Guys, have some food," Haley said.

"Lucas!" Brooke called. "Bring plates for the kids!"

There was a disgruntled shout of compliance, and they got back to their food.

* * *

"Okay, kitchen is done!" Lucas wiped his hands proudly as he and Nathan came into the bedroom where the girls were sorting out clothes. 

"And we've got most of the stuff into the living room that needs to be there," Nathan added.

"That's great you guys," Haley came and gave Nathan a kiss. "Thanks honey."

"Do you guys need any help in here?" Lucas asked.

"I think we can handle the clothes," Brooke said grinning.

"Where's Jake?" Peyton asked.

"He's with the kids, Jenny and Amy are playing monopoly but Ellie kept 'helping' so he decided to entertain her."

"Ooh I wanna play monopoly!" Haley cried excitedly, and headed out of the room.

"Hales! Clothes!"

Haley stuck her head back round the door. "Yeah just…get them all out of the boxes. How about you organise my wardrobe Tigger?"

Brooke gave her a look.

"Come on, you know you want to."

"Fine. But only cause I love you."

"Sure, whatever." Haley left to join the kids, and Brooke caught Peyton's look.

"What? I don't _really_ want to."

* * *

When Brooke was satisfied that none of Haley's sweaters were touching her tanks, she and Peyton made their way into the living room. They stopped at the door and surveyed the scene; Haley and Jake were sitting on the floor with all the girls except Amy, and Haley and Jenny's game of Monopoly seemed to have gotten pretty heated. 

Nathan and Jack were playing with a nerfball that they were trying to get into the trashcan on the other side of the room from their positions on the sofa. Needless to say, Nathan was a little better than Jack.

Amy was sitting in Lucas' lap on the other couch, facing him. He was grinning as she tried to teach him some complicated clapping game. Amy was laughing because he kept screwing up.

Brooke felt Peyton wrap an arm round her and looked round at her and smiled.

Peyton just smiled back, and rested her head against Brooke's as she watched.

"I hardly ever get to see them together."

Peyton glanced at Brooke's face but saw she was still smiling.

"Makes your heart kind of flutter doesn't it," Peyton said, her eyes on Jake as he watched Jenny play, Ellie now asleep in his arms.

"Yeah…"

Lucas suddenly looked up and saw Brooke. He smiled and Amy followed the direction of her gaze, and jumped up, going over to her mother.

"I bet you mom can do it."

Brooke let Amy lead her over to the couch. "Okay, show me how…"

Peyton went over to join the monopoly game. "How're you doing Jen? You know, Haley's a bit of a master at this game."

"I know…" Jenny said, chewing her little fingernail. "Mom I have all the oranges but she's still winning!"

Peyton laughed. "Does she keep getting double sixes every time she gets near your property?"

"Yes!"

Haley just grinned. "I love this game!"

Nathan looked over from the couch after another basket. "It's getting pretty late guys, do you want to stay here tonight?"

"Would that be okay?" Jake asked. "We can just sleep on the floor or something."

"Yeah it'd be fine, we've got the spare room, and Jenny and Ellie can sleep in Leyla's room."

"That'd be great."

"Hey Brooke," Nathan called.

Brooke, Lucas and Amy looked up.

Nathan chuckled. "You guys all have exactly the same expression. Um, do you want to stay here tonight?" he continued, off Brooke's raised eyebrow.

Brooke hesitated. "That'd be fun. Is there room?"

"Yeah, we can work it out."

"Okay, you want to do that, Ames?" Brooke asked her.

"Yeah!"

Brooke smiled and glanced at Lucas.

"Yeah, no point in leaving now."

Haley smiled. "Great."

* * *

Eventually they all dispersed. It had been a long day and they wanted to get the kids to bed, and Jenny and Amy, despite the fact they had been dozing for the last hour, were resistant to go if they thought the adults would be staying up longer. 

Nathan put out a mattress in Jack's room for Amy and Jenny, who wanted to both be in there, and in the end Jake let Ellie sleep in their bed in the spare room, because she didn't want to leave them.

Haley brought some duvets into the living room, where Brooke was putting away the abandoned monopoly and DVDs.

Brooke saw Haley look towards the French windows where Lucas was standing on the balcony talking on the phone.

"Who's he talking to?" she asked.

"Emma."

Haley nodded, and turned back to the couch, setting down two pillows. "Will you be alright in here?"

"Yeah, this looks great."

"Is it okay if Lucas is on the other couch? Otherwise Nathan or I could be on the floor in Leyla's room or something - "

"Hales, it's fine," Brooke assured her.

"Okay. Amy will be in Jack's room."

"Great."

The doors from the balcony opened and Lucas came in, flipping shut his phone. "Am I sleeping in here?" he asked.

"Yup, if that's…"

"Yeah, great."

There was a pause and he glanced at Brooke. "Are you in here too?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Okay. Cool." He hesitated for a second. "I'm just going to say goodnight to Ames." He made his to the door and went out into the hall.

Haley turned at smiled at Brooke. "Okay…well, see you in the morning."

* * *

Lucas glanced up as Brooke came into the room. She was pulling her hair back into a ponytail, now wearing an old T-shirt of Nathan's and some of Haley's pyjama pants. 

He propped himself up on his elbows from his position on one of the couches. "Hey."

She smiled. "Hey." She turned the light of at the switch on the wall, and made her way over to the other couch by the moonlight filtering in through the curtains.

"Good day, huh?"

"Yeah, it was nice to see everyone," Brooke agreed.

"It'll be cool to have Nate and Hales in the city."

"Amy's really pleased, she missed them."

"Yeah, she always goes on about her uncle Nathan. He's got a way with kids, huh?"

"He can identify well with them," Brooke said, the corner of her mouth twitching.

Lucas chuckled.

"It was nice to…see you and Amy together too," Brooke said hesitantly.

Lucas smiled. "Yeah you too."

"You're a really good father Lucas."

Lucas looked abashed. "I don't think I can take any credit for how great she is."

Brooke gave a little shrug. "I guess we've both done pretty well."

There was a comfortable silence for a second, and then Lucas rested his head back on his pillow.

"Goodnight Brooke."

"Night Luke."

* * *

_He was aware of a sensation of warmth._

_He was in a bed, and as he recognised his surroundings he also recognised the touch of the women next to him, as she cupped his cheek gently. She kissed him slowly, slipping her other hand under his T-shirt as she did so, and pulling it up, breaking the kiss momentarily to pull it over his head._

_His mind seemed split between a vague awareness of what was happening and simultaneously one that it shouldn't be. An unknown mind seemed to be directing him however, and he found his lips on hers once more._

_Brooke ran her hands over his back, the soft pads of her fingertips brushing his skin, digging in a little harder as she pulled him closer to her._

"_Mm, that feels good…"_

Lucas slipped back into consciousness as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you awake?"

He opened one eye and tipped his head forward, Brooke's face coming into view.

"I am now."

She grinned and squeezed his shoulder. "Were you dreaming?"

He rubbed his eyes. "Uh…no."

She gave a nod impassively. "Um, the others are getting up."

"Okay…yeah, I'll be up in a minute."

"Okay." She stood up and left the room, and Lucas blinked a few times, his dream coming back to him.

So…that was a little weird.

Admittedly, he had had a couple of dreams about Brooke before, but not in quite a while.

But it wasn't anything to dwell on…being in close proximity to her for the day, sleeping in the same room…it was hardly surprising it had stirred a few memories. He couldn't actually pinpoint what memory he had been dreaming about however, which suggested he had just concocted that all on his own…but maybe not. After all, there weren't exactly a shortage of…episodes it could have been.

* * *

They all had breakfast in the kitchen. Lucas shook of his awkward feeling and forgot about the dream, or as far as possible so that he could look Brooke in the eye. 

Afterwards they ended up in the living room, where some of the kids wanted to watch Sunday morning cartoons.

"God this view is amazing," Brooke said in awe, as she opened the doors onto to balcony. Haley followed her out, pulling the sleeves of her sweater down.

"I love it, it's what sealed the deal on this place."

Brooke turned and leant against the low wall, looking back into the living room.

Haley caught her wistful expression. "You okay?" she asked, already half guessing what was on Brooke's mind.

Brooke glanced at her and gave her a taught smile. "Yeah. It's just…it's been a while since we've all been together…and it always makes me think about…the past and stuff…" she trailed off, her voice dropping.

Haley pressed her lips together and nodded. "It was nice you and Lucas could both be here."

Brooke smiled briefly. "Yeah." There was silence for a second and then Brooke shook her head. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring any of that up."

"Hey, no, it's fine."

"It's all ancient history, I don't know why I'm even thinking about it."

Haley wrapped an arm round her. "Just because it's in the past doesn't mean it's not important anymore."

Brooke nodded slowly. "It's just, being around you guys…" she broke off, watching Nathan as he sat on the couch, surrounded by all the kids. She shook her head, waving a hand, "I don't know, maybe we just didn't try hard enough."

"Brooke," Haley said sternly. Brooke just looked down and Haley paused for a minute. "I have an amazing husband," she said finally, "he's a great father. And sometimes I think he made a huge sacrifice so we could stay together.

"Lucas is fantastic father too, but he had a dream he wanted to pursue. I don't know…maybe I stopped Nathan from going after something he wanted, and someday that will come back and cause problems for us…or maybe I was just incredibly lucky. All I mean is, there was nothing you or Lucas did wrong that caused you to break up. There was nothing we did that you didn't. We're all different people; sometimes things just work out differently from how you imagined."

Brooke nodded, "Yeah, you're right." She smiled. "And it's fine, I'm not sad about any of it, I wouldn't change anything…I was just thinking about it."

"Yeah…well we all get a little wistful for the past sometimes."

Brooke looked back at Nathan and smiled. "And I don't think you have to worry about Nate, Hales. I think all his dreams have already come true."

_Please review!There was lots to pack in this chapter but I hope you all enjoyed seeing a little of the others.I need all the motivation I can get right now so all reviews are extremely welcome. Next chapter should be up soon, I've written some of it already, it's going to be a cute one…_


	7. About Mommy

_New chapter, woo woo! As I said before, it's kinda a cutesy one. Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's day/Up with being single/kill all happy couples day. Except I can't really say that anymore because I am now one part of a slightly sickening couple (cheesy grin). Sorry._

_Back to BL…_

Lucas opened his door and smiled at Brooke and Amy outside. "Hey kiddo."

"Hey daddy! Look I got new - "

"Shoes! I can see that," he smiled, "And a new polo shirt."

"Uh huh! And the skirt's new too. And we got a jumper and pyjamas too!"

Lucas chuckled, meeting Brooke's eyes for a second. She looked up innocently, smiling a little. "Wow. Why don't you go show Emma?"

"Okay!"

He turned to Brooke once Amy had run past him. She gave a little shrug. "What?"

He continued to look at her and she cracked. "Okay so we went a little overboard. But the new designs were in and she just looked so gorgeous in everything and you know how I get with Ralph's kids' line…"

"The shoes are converse."

"Well we passed them on the way back and they go so well with the polo…"

Lucas rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "They're pink."

"I know it's not the most practical colour for a child's shoe but Luke, come on! They're so cute! And anyway, I had to get pink because she wanted _black_, like Jenny, and I'm not having my daughter turn into a rock chick."

"She's not going to turn into a rock chick!" he said laughing, "She just likes having stuff that Jenny does."

"And you don't think that's worrying! I'm not having my kid thinking Peyton's kid is cooler than her."

Lucas laughed again, shaking his head. "Brooke Jenny's six years older, of course Amy thinks she's cool. I don't think it's any reflection on their respective mothers'."

"It'd better not be. Cause I'm cooler than Peyton, right? At least fashion wise?"

Lucas gave a half nod, not wishing to fuel Brooke's crazy competitiveness.

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "That'd better be a yes. I'll see you next week." She hugged him briefly. "And maybe…don't buy her anything this weekend."

"Or how about the next month?"

"Sure, whatever you want."

"I meant you!"

Brooke gave a half nod, mimicking Lucas. "Yeah, we'll see how that goes…"

Lucas smiled, and shut the door shaking his head.

* * *

Amy yawned as Lucas pulled her covers up round her, tucking her into bed. "Do you want a story?" 

"No, talk to me."

"Okay. What about?" Lucas asked.

"Talk to me about Mommy."

"Baby Mommy can tell you about herself."

"No. I want you to tell me," Amy sat up and crossed her arms.

Lucas sighed, but smiled, and sat down on her bed. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Tell me about when Mommy was younger."

"You've heard about all this."

"No I haven't! And I wanna hear it again. Please Daddy!"

"Fine. Mommy was a cheerleader."

"Was she a nice cheerleader like Torrance? Or more like Valerie from Sabrina?"

"Uh…if I knew who they were…"

Amy rolled her eyes.

"She was nice," Lucas said. "She even talked to the dorks," Lucas said chuckling, thinking of Mouth. "Because your mom learnt how to be herself, and be happy with that. And so she should be, cause she's pretty amazing Ames."

Amy grinned.

"She always says I should trust myself, and not worry about what other people think."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah. It can be tough to do that when you're growing up. But you'll always have us here to help you," he said, squeezing her shoulders.

"Was Mommy good in school?" Amy asked after a second.

Lucas laughed, "Not really. But she got better."

"Cause aunt Tutorgirl helped her get into college."

"Yeah, because Aunt _Haley_ helped her."

"Were you good in school Daddy?"

"Yes I was," Lucas said, grinning, "So in school you've got to be like me."

"Do I have to play basketball?" Amy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not if you don't want to," Lucas laughed at her expression, she looked so like Brooke when she did that. "You can be a cheerleader if you really want."

"Good."

Lucas smiled at her, pulling her onto his lap, "Try not to be _too_ much like Mommy though," he said after a minute, laughing.

"Mommy was head cheerleader," Amy said proudly. "And you were the captain of basketball."

"That's true, in our senior year."

"Were you Mommy's boyfriend?"

"For most of the time," Lucas said chuckling; he and Brooke's relationship had always been a little on and off.

"Did you love her?"

"I still do baby, just not in the same way."

Amy made a face, and Lucas laughed. "I know, what does that mean right?"

"Did you break up with her because of me?"

Lucas looked down at Amy quickly. "No. We broke up because we had some problems, it was nothing to do with you."

Amy didn't believe him. "Would you give me up if you could still be with Mommy?"

Lucas frowned, "No sweetie."

"So that means you love me more than Mommy."

Lucas smiled at her logic, "I love you more than anything in the world baby."

Amy paused, and then decided she was satisfied with this answer. Lucas smiled at her as she settled her head against his chest, closing her eyes. After a few minutes he felt her breathing slow down, and her stroked her hair, tucking a dark brown lock behind her ear.

* * *

"So, you know whose birthday is coming up?" Carrie asked Brooke as she sat in her office on Monday morning, twirling round on one of her chairs. 

"Um…no?"

"Brooke!"

Brooke glanced up distractedly. "Carrie shouldn't you be at work?"

Carrie shrugged. "I'm taking the morning off. What? I'm the boss, I can do what I like."

"Uh huh…"

"Anyway, you really don't know whose birthday it is soon?"

Brooke sighed and leant back, realising she wasn't going to get any work done for the next hour or so. "Um…"

"It's Lucas' Brooke! The father of your child?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Yeah, I should think so. God." Carrie rolled her eyes grinning. "Anyway, Hales called me yesterday because she wants to throw a party for him because you know he never makes a big deal out of his birthday. I think really she just wants something to do cause she's getting bored of not working but that's just my theory, anyway - "

"Hang on, wait. Hales called you?"

"Uh, yes?"

"And not me? Her best friend and ex-wife of said birthday boy?"

"Yeah, I think that might be why."

Brooke sighed. "Is she still on that?"

"Brooke it's no big deal Haley just…I don't know she feels uncomfortable about the whole subject - "

"It's been years!"

"Yeah I know, but it's only recently that you've kind of been hanging out and stuff and I think she still thinks that you're not really over him and - "

"That's so ridiculous! Surely the very fact we have been hanging out shows I'm completely over him."

Carrie held up her hands. "Hey! I didn't say anything, I'm just defending Hales. You know, it's difficult for her with her and Nate…being so great and everything - "

"Well Peyton and Jake are happy together but that doesn't mean Peyt gets all awkward around the subject of Lucas."

Carrie sighed. "Don't worry about it Brooke, it was nothing. Anyway, she just mentioned the idea to me, see what I thought, and when I said I was seeing you she said I should tell you about it."

Brooke waved her hand. "Fine. Sorry. Okay, so what's the plan?"

"Well Haley was thinking maybe a black tie party – dinner and dancing that kind of thing. We could rent a club for an evening…"

"Sounds great. Is it gonna be like a surprise or…?"

"Yeah, why not? Haley can call Emma and she can get him there."

"Okay. Well what do you need me for?"

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Brooke you're an awesome party planner and you know it. And we want you to be involved. So…I don't know, call me later with some ideas?"

Brooke relented and smiled. "Fine. Ooh do you think we could get Woody's at short notice?"

Carrie grinned. "I'm sure you could." She hopped off her desk. "Speak to you later, bye babe."

She left the office and Brooke turned back to her work, but then rested her chin on her hand distractedly. Party planning for Lucas… She smiled happily and grabbed her phonebook.

* * *

"Mommy how about that?" Amy asked, tugging on Brooke's hand and pointing to a dark blue shirt in the window of Hugo Boss. 

"You think your Daddy would like that?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you, duh."

"Well it's your present Ames."

Amy considered for a moment and then shook her head. "No, it's boring."

"Okay, well how about we go to Melrose and see if there's anything down there."

"Okay! Can we go into Barney's on the way?"

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "And which section would we be going to?"

Amy shrugged slowly. "I don't know…men's wear I guess…but if we happened to pass through children's wear then…"

"Ames…you just had a whole lot of new clothes the other day."

"That was in the sale!"

"So? There still clothes."

Amy pouted and Brooke laughed. "Sorry kiddo, Dad's orders."

"Ugh. And when I'm buying him a present and everything!"

Brooke chuckled and took her hand as they crossed the street.

"What are you getting him, Mom?" Amy asked as they walked down Melrose Avenue.

Brooke tipped her head on one side. "I don't know."

"You could get him a book. Daddy likes books."

Brooke laughed. "Yeah, I remember."

"Or…some cufflinks?" Amy continued to reel of suggestions.

Brooke thought about it as Amy stopped at another window. She hadn't gotten Lucas a proper present in years; the previous few years she hadn't really seen him around his birthday. She'd had such a good track record with him before it would be a shame not to get him something special now.

They went in the store and Amy looked up and around at all the clothes on display. Brooke wandered to a wrack of ties, keeping one eye on her daughter.

She ran her fingers down the smooth silk of a dark green one. She was sure to think of something.

* * *

Brooke sat up and rubbed her eyes as she heard footsteps outside her door. It opened a second later and Amy padded in, approaching her bed and lifting up the covers before crawling in next to Brooke. 

She didn't say anything but just snuggled up next to her mother.

"Hey sweetheart, bad dream?"

Brooke felt her the movement of Amy's chin up and down against her side. She wrapped an arm round her. "Okay, go to sleep baby girl."

Amy closed her eyes and Brooke dropped a kiss on her head, before closing her own too.

_Brooke wrapped her arms round herself as she wandered down the hall of Lucas' house. It was kind of nice in the dark…all quiet…_

_She realised in the silence her feet were probably making way to much noise, and slowed to a creep as she passed Karen's room. The house was freezing and she shivered as she stopped outside Lucas' door, kicking herself for leaving her bed in only a tank top and a pair of his boxers._

_She opened the door a crack and slipped in, closing it gently behind her. _

_When Karen had first offered Brooke a room for spring break, Brooke never actually thought it would be an actual room. More just, permission to sleep in Lucas' bed for the week. She should have guessed that while Karen was totally fine for them to be shacking up when they **weren't** together, now that they were it was strictly opposite ends of the house._

_Obviously, Brooke was always one to see these rules more as guidelines…_

"_Lucas?"_

_Lucas rolled over, opening his eyes blearily. "Hey babe, you okay?"_

_Brooke nodded and sat down on the side of his bed. "Shove over."_

_He obliged and she climbed in to bed next to him, wrapping an arm round his middle. "I'm not used to sleeping alone anymore."_

_He chuckled. "C'mere." He wrapped his arms round her and kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep pretty girl."

* * *

_

_So a little bit of fluff. A short interlude…amidst the fluff. And vague 'when the hell are they going to get together' angst.  
__Anyhoo, you know what you gotta do. But just in case, **review**!_

_**Next up**: Uh, you can maybe guess. And if not…er, surprises are cool!_


	8. Memories and stuff

_Hello lovely faithful readers who have come back despite my horribly long absence. I apologise massively for that, and with absolutely no further ado finally bring you another chapter…_

Brooke drew her hair back into a ponytail distractedly as she searched through the kitchen for a pair of scissors. She pulled open a few drawers and rifled through them, and then pushed them shut again with a bang as she turned and went to look in the living room.

There was a knock on the door and she hurried over to open it.

"Hey chickadee."

Brooke smiled at Carrie and left the door open as she went back to searching.

Carrie raised her eyebrows. "Well hello Carrie, nice to see you. Are you well? Yes thank you Brooke."

Brooke glanced up. "Sorry. It's great to see you but it has only been about 23 hours Carr."

"I guess," Carrie admitted, perching on the back of the couch. "So what are you looking for?"

"Some scissors."

"What for?"

"I'm wrapping Lucas' present."

"Oh, what did you get him?"

"Uh, these…shoes. Amy!" Brooke called, ignoring Carrie's inquisitive look.

"Yeah?" Amy's voice came from her room.

"Do you have any scissors?"

There was a pause and then Amy appeared holding out a small pair of scissors with red handles.

"Thanks honey."

"You know it's kind of sad that your infant daughter is more organised than you."

Brooke gave Carrie a withering look. Carrie followed her back into the kitchen where a roll of dark blue wrapping paper was lying out on the table, with a 'Converse' box lying on top of it.

"Are those them?" Carrie asked, picking up the box. "Converse one star," she read, "Green."

"Yeah," Brooke said, frowning slightly. "Do you think they're okay?"

Carrie lifted the lid. "They look cool. You don't think you should have got him _Allstars _though?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I wanna massage his ego. I don't know about giving him sneakers though; I'm not sure he'll wear them."

"Sure he will."

Brooke wrinkled her nose but began cutting the wrapping paper. Carrie didn't say anything. "So what are you wearing?" she asked after a minute.

Brooke sighed. "I don't know."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not really into the spirit of this whole thing? What's up?"

"Nothing," Brooke said. "It's fine, I'm just…tired I guess."

"Well you'd better wake up babe cause the party's in an hour and everyone will be looking forward to congratulating the party planner on her awesome job…"

Brooke forced a smile. "Yup…" She finished folding the paper and adding a few pieces of tape before wrapping a piece of white ribbon round it, tying it in a neat bow.

"What are you wearing?" she asked suddenly, turning and looking up at Carrie.

Carrie stuck a thumb over her shoulder. "I've got that silver dress of mine with me."

Brooke nodded slowly. "Cool."

Carrie watched her for a moment and then rolled her eyes. "Come on, we're going to look through your wardrobe." She grabbed her arm. "Maybe we can find where you've hidden my best friend in there…"

* * *

"Ooh I wanna wear these shoes!" 

Brooke's wardrobe seemed to have revived her spirits, and she was now getting enthusiastic about the prospect of a party. Carrie grinned as Brooke held up some black stilettos with thin straps.

"Cute. Okay, now we just have to decide on the dress. Are you sure none of those?" She pointed to the pile of dresses thrown onto Brooke's bed which was growing steadily larger.

"Yes," Brooke nodded, "They're all too…I dunno, not right."

"Okay, well then how about…" Carrie went back into Brooke's walk-in wardrobe and Brooke heard her moving hangers. "Oh, I've got it!"

"Really?" Brooke looked up from trying on the shoes as Carrie came out.

"You should wear this!"

Brooke raised her eyebrows as Carrie held up a dark green dress. She looked at it silently for a moment, tipping her head on one side.

"You think?" she asked after a minute.

"Yes! It's gorgeous, and you haven't worn it for ages."

"Well I got it in college, I doubt if it would even still fit…"

"As if you've put on any weight since then. Just try it on."

Brooke hesitated and then smiled and stood up, taking the dress. "Yeah, okay."

She went into the closet pulling her sweater over her head. She unbuttoned her jeans and slipped them of before putting on the dress. The soft material slid down her sides and fell towards the floor. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail and ran a hand through it as she turned towards the mirror.

She was instantly transported back eight years. She could remember exactly the first night she had worn this dress, in her second year of college before she and Lucas had got back together. He had taken her to a fancy party of one of their friends, and she could picture the expression on his face as she and Carrie had swept down the stairs. His slight smile as he tried to cover the feelings in his eyes, the way his hand had had the slightest tremor as he placed it on her back and kissed her cheek.

She smiled slightly and ran her hands down the sides of the dress before turning and going back out into her bedroom.

Carrie looked up from the bed and grinned. "Perfect, right?"

Brooke smiled. "Yeah, I think it's good."

"Awesome. Okay, I'm going to get changed too, cause we have to go in like fifteen minutes."

Brooke checked her watch. "Wo, yeah. I'd better get Ames ready."

* * *

"Okay, we're just coming in now, see you in a sec." Brooke flipped her phone shut as she came up the steps of the old stone building they had hired for the party. It was an exclusive members' club that had a beautiful ballroom that would be perfect for the drinks and dancing they had planned. 

Brooke took Amy's hand as they went inside where the finishing touches were being added to the decorations and spotted Haley talking to the caterer at the opposite end of the room.

"Hales!"

Haley turned and smiled, coming over to them. "Hey guys. Amy you look gorgeous," she said looking down at her, and then raising her eyes to Brooke, "As does your mom! Wow, beautiful dress."

"Thanks, you too."

Haley shrugged. "Christmas present to myself; I love Nathan, but I can't trust his taste in clothes."

Brooke grinned. "Is everything ready?"

"Yup, pretty much. People should start arriving in the next half hour, and then Emma's coming with him at eight."

Brooke nodded stiffly. "Okay, great."

Carrie came in at that moment and joined them. "Hey, I've sorted everything out about parking so they'll be room for cars to stop outside. It looks great in here."

"Everything's ready," Brooke said. She checked her watch. "Which is a good thing cause it's less than an hour till Lucas arrives with Emma." She smiled tightly. "I'm just going to put our coats away, come on Ames."

Carrie and Haley shared a glance. "Has she been in a weird mood all day?" Haley asked.

"She seemed a little stressed earlier, but she was fine on the way here," Carrie said, her eyes following Brooke across the room.

Haley bit her lip. "Do you think it was a good idea, involving her in this?"

"Definitely. I mean, could we have done it without her?"

"No I mean, with Emma and everything - "

"Yeah I know…but…" She shook her head. "She's probably just had a long week, we're over-reacting."

Haley nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

* * *

Most of the guests had arrived when Haley checked Nathan's watch for the fourth time in two minutes and then finally felt the vibration of his phone in his jacket pocket. He took it out and rolled his eyes at her as he handed it over. 

"Brooke," Brooke turned to see Haley closing her phone. "They're just outside."

Word whipped round the guests, and a hushed silence fell. They heard footsteps outside the doors and then Lucas' voice. "Are you sure they do dinner here?"

"Yes, of course, it's all reserved," Emma's voice was suddenly louder as she opened the doors and stepped aside, as Lucas walked in.

The noise level rocketed, and his surprised face was soon replaced by a grin as he saw everyone there. Amy ran up and leapt into his arms with a cry of "Happy Birthday Daddy!" and he was soon swamped by his friends.

Brooke found herself hanging back, being too far away to reach him before he was surrounded. She felt and arm round her shoulder and looked round to see Nathan, who smiled round at her.

"You did good kid."

She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't my idea."

"You're the originator of all surprise parties ever."

"No really, Haley and Emma - "

"Where do you think Hales got the idea?"

Brooke just smiled. "Other people in the world have thrown these before you know."

"Whatever, still seems like a Brooke Davis party to me."

She smiled again and leant her head against his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go get a drink."

* * *

Brooke surveyed the crowd of people in the room, pleased at how it looked; the waiters slid effortlessly between the guests, the silver platters of canapés and flutes of champagne glittered under the low lights. She caught sight of a blonde head and watched as Lucas smiled and nodded at something someone was saying, before turning and looking round the room. 

He met her eyes and smiled, cutting through the crowd till he stood in front of her.

"Hey."

"Hey," she smiled. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you. And thank you for this."

"What makes you think I had anything to do with it?"

Lucas grinned. "Just a hunch."

"It was all Hales and Emma's idea. I just…put in a few finishing touches."

"Sure. Well, it's amazing, so thank you."

She smiled. "You're welcome."

"I gotta go say hi to some more people, but I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

He kissed her on the cheek and went to find his mom.

Brooke heard a squeal from the other end of the room and looked over to see what was going on. She smiled as she saw who it was and cut her way through the crowd. The noise had come from Carrie, who had just seen Toby come in. When Brooke reached them Toby had just set her down, after she'd leapt into his arms.

"Brooke!" he cried as he spotted her. "How's it going?"

"It's great. You look awesome," she said as he pulled her into a hug. "It's been way too long!"

"I know, I should come over and see you guys more often. So where's the birthday boy?"

"He's just over there," Brooke said, pointing him in Lucas' direction.

Toby nodded. "Okay," he turned back to them, "We have catching up to do later, okay?" They nodded. He took Carrie's waist and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll see you later beautiful."

They both smiled as he left to find Lucas, and Carrie let out a sigh as she rested her head on Brooke's shoulder.

Brooke just grinned and Carrie looked up at her and giggled, unable to stop the smile on her face.

* * *

Carrie ran a hand through her hair as she scanned the room for Freddie and Toby, wondering if they'd seen the other was there yet. She was aware of someone next to her and glanced round, finding it was Emma. 

She hesitated, and then Emma turned and caught her eye, and the two smiled at each other a little awkwardly.

Carrie pressed her lips together for a second, and then said, "Hi, I'm Caroline."

Emma smiled and shook her outstretched hand. "Emma."

"You're Lucas' girlfriend right?"

Emma nodded. "And you're Brooke's best friend."

"One of them," Carrie shrugged it off.

Emma smiled and nodded. "Right."

"What do you do?" Carrie asked, wondering why this was quite so awkward.

"I'm a human rights lawyer."

Carrie raised her eyebrows. "Nice."

Emma shrugged. "Well I've gotta have something to compete with that." She nodded her head in the direction of Brooke, where she was laughing with Peyton and Jake on the other side of the room.

Carrie hesitated, her eyebrows still raised, and Emma grinned. "I'm kidding."

Carrie chuckled in spite of herself.

"Anyway even if I was a doctor or something it wouldn't be anything compared to how stunning and poised she is."

"Well you are blonde," Carrie chipped in, going with the joke.

"Does Lucas like blondes?"

Carrie pondered for a minute. "I don't know…I don't really know what his type is, except for…"

"Brooke?"

Carrie shrugged sheepishly. "I've never really known him with anyone else. Except you of course, so I guess it's fifty fifty." She grinned. "At least we know he doesn't go for red heads."

Emma smiled. "Well I guess that means I'm safe."

Carrie laughed.

"Although, looks like you might be taken anyway. Who was that brown haired hotty who came in earlier?"

"Toby?"

"Sure."

"He's just a friend."

"You're smile begs to differ."

Carrie grinned. "He's my ex from college," she admitted. "He lives in Pasadena now so we don't see him much."

Emma nodded knowingly. "I see. Thwarted by the distance thing, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess. He's great but we just wanted different stuff. It's kind of like Brooke and Lucas: it just didn't work out. We still have a lot of fun together though."

"That's good."

Carrie smiled. "Yeah…so…you and Lucas. It's been a while now hasn't it?"

"Yup. A little over a year."

"Wow. So are you guys…thinking about marriage or anything?"

Emma smiled and shook her head. "No, not yet anyway. He's great, I mean I love him but…I don't know where he'd be on that. And I don't think I'm ready either. Anyway I'm working so much right now, and he's going away on games constantly for half the year…" She trailed off and shrugged. "I think we both just like having someone to come home to."

Carrie nodded, her face not showing her surprise. She'd always thought of Emma as some young girl who'd been completely swept off her feet by the all-star. She'd almost pitied her, but it seemed she had her feet firmly on the ground.

"But you never know, I mean, Amy's great and maybe one day I'd like to have my own kids." She gave a small smile and then looked down. "Anyway, technically he's still married to Brooke, right?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah he is."

* * *

Peyton kissed Brooke's cheek and smiled before she went off to find out how Jake and Jenny were doing, and Brooke took another sip of her drink as she watched her leave. She caught sight of a friend from NYU and smiled across the room, and then her eyes drifted to the dance floor where she saw Nathan spin Haley round before taking her back in his arms. 

She watched them for a minute and then saw Lucas and Emma dancing a little way away from them, and smiled as she saw Lucas laugh.

Her bottom lip slipped under her teeth and she felt that feeling wash over her again, the one she hadn't quite been able to shake off this last week. The one she thought she'd seen the last of.

_Brooke lay in his arms, her face pressed against his chest. She knew he was awake, but didn't look up to meet his eyes. A lead weight was growing inside her stomach with each rise and fall of his chest._

_She lay so still that she thought she could actually feel her heart slowing down, as if it too was trying to stop the passing of time and let this moment carry on, just like this._

_The movement of his fingers therefore caused a slight jolt of surprise. He hesitated for a second, and then slowly ran them through her hair, cupping the back of her head. She closed her eyes, wondering how many times she had lived this moment._

_Except this time there would be no sudden interruption by Karen, or Keith, or even Haley. He would not sneak out of her bedroom window either, and she would not see him the next day in school, catch him by his locker for a quick kiss before class._

_They wouldn't be going back to the same room that night, turfing out various roommates for a little privacy together; or that bedroom with their first double bed in the apartment they shared senior yea;, or the subsequent smaller bedrooms in New York and then Boston, where they'd be woken in the middle of the night by Amy crying, but he'd kiss her and let her go back to sleep while he got up._

_They'd never do that again._

_They'd never scream at each other either. He wouldn't make her cry in the middle of the night, she wouldn't come home after an argument the night before to find he'd gone out on a run somewhere. She wouldn't lie looking at his back wondering what to say to make it all better._

_She'd never see him cry again._

_His fingers tightened slightly against her head and her thoughts evaporated. She felt him press his lips hard against her hair, and then his fingers, his lips, his body was gone, as he rolled away from her and stood up, going over to his closet and pulling out a T-shirt. She lay there fore a second and watched him pull it over his head, and then slowly got up and started putting on her clothes._

_When she turned around he had put on some grey flannel sweatpants too, and was leaving the room. She followed him into the hall, where he turned and faced her, their eyes meeting for the first time since they had been having sex in his bed hours before._

_They stood, the silence in the room deepening. Her fingers twitched, and she longed to reach out and take his hand, just to touch him. He was moving away though, going to open the door._

"_You should go," he said. _

_She paused, and nodded, not meeting his eyes. 'Say you didn't mean any of it!' her mind screamed. 'Just say you want him back!'_

_She moved to the door, unable to even look at him. Her body was hot all over and her mind wouldn't focus, she felt like her insides had disappeared leaving a great, gaping hole._

_She stopped by the door, and took a breath, gathering herself together. She slowly looked up at him._

"_See you…" he trailed off, knowing it wouldn't be soon._

_She gave the smallest of nods. "Bye."_

"_Bye."_

_The air seamed to be sucked out of the room creating an unbearable pressure. He felt a sudden urge to kiss her, he needed to kiss her just once more…_

_Her lips twitched in the smallest of parting smiles, and she turned and left the apartment._

_He stood breathing, his moth slightly open, and then licked his lips, his throat going dry._

_As she got out onto the street she wrapped her arms around herself against the cold, biting her lip to block out the great emptiness inside her._

'_This is the last time you have to do this' she told herself. 'The last time you have to say goodbye, to have this feeling'._

_The last time. _

"Brooke!"

Brooke turned to see Lucas approaching her. "Hey," she smiled, her mind suddenly clearing as she shrugged off her memories. "Having fun?"

He grinned. "Yeah. But I haven't got a dance off you yet."

She hesitated for a split second. "Well I think we can remedy that."

He smiled and stretched out a hand. She took it and he pulled her into the crowd of dancing couples swinging and turning to the band.

She set a hand on his shoulder and felt his fingers rest lightly on her waist as they began to move in time.

It was a fun, jazzy song and she laughed as he spun her round, his fingers expertly finding her waist again as she came to rest in his arms.

As the song came to an end he dipped her over one arm, grinning as he brought her up again. She leant her head against his shoulder for a second, chuckling, and then looked up at him. He reached out a tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You look beautiful tonight by the way."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks," she said quietly.

He looked at her for another moment and then smiled too.

"Nothing wrong with a little vintage, right?" she joked with a shrug, wondering if he recognised the dress.

He nodded. "It's stunning."

Brooke held his gaze for a moment and he tipped his head on one side. "What?"

She hesitated and then shook her head. "Nothing. I've had kind of a weird week…um, suddenly a lot of…memories and stuff." She glanced down. "Anyway, it doesn't matter." There was a pause after she trailed off.

"Hey," he nudged her arm gently. "If you want to talk about anything, I'm always here."

She smiled. "Thanks Luke."

"Actually not _here_ exactly…I'd whack up a pretty huge bar bill. But, you know, wherever you need me."

She chuckled and he smiled.

"Mom!"

They both turned to see Amy coming up to them, and Lucas bent down and scooped her up into his arms. "How's my girl? Enjoying the party?"

"Uh huh! But I'm tired Daddy."

"You're tired! Brooke Davis' daughter is tired at a party? Ames come on, you gotta hold out a little longer." Lucas grinned as Amy chuckled and leant her head against his shoulder.

"Lucas it's nearly eleven. She's only six!"

Lucas looked down and Ames and lifted her chin with one hand. "Hm…are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "She looks about twenty-six to me."

"Dad!"

Brooke grinned and shook her head.

Haley and Nathan came up at that minute, and Nathan went up to talk to Amy.

"You okay?" Haley asked Brooke, bumping her shoulder against hers.

Brooke turned to her and smiled. "Yeah. I am."

Haley draped an arm round her. "Good."

Brooke saw Lucas glance up and caught his eye. A look of understanding passed between them, and he gave her a small smile before he turned back to his daughter.

* * *

_**Please review!** I hope you all liked it, if you didn't, I can fix it, and if you did, I really want to know!_

_**Next up:** Oh heck I don't even know. Good stuff…oh I just check the plan and it's a fun one, there's a nice flashback in there. So yeah, get reviewing and I'll get some skates on and try not to leave it for a month this time!_


	9. He Understands

_Thank you all so much for your reviews! Here's the new chapter:_

Brooke set her morning cup of coffee down on her desk and sat down behind it, leaning back in her chair. Carrie sat down opposite, picking up one of the magazines on Brooke's desk.

The two often travelled to work together as Carrie worked just a few buildings down from Brooke and liked to waste time in the morning to put off whatever she had to do that day. She claimed she worked best in the afternoons and that there really wasn't a point in her being in the office in the morning.

"Carrie you told me yesterday that I had to make you go to work this morning."

"Uh huh, yeah," Carrie mumbled, not looking up from the copy of 'Vogue'.

"Because you have an important meeting you have to prepare for with Momentum."

"Yup, that's right."

"Carrie! Cutting edge indie films don't produce themselves."

Carrie dropped the magazine back on the desk. "Well I wish they would. Just until like lunchtime."

"Are you free for lunch?" Brooke asked, thinking about it now Carrie had mentioned it.

"Er…actually, I'm not. I'm…meeting a friend."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "A friend? And who might that be?"

Carrie looked guilty. "Caz…" Brooke said warningly.

"Um…Emma."

"Emma? As in Lucas' girlfriend Emma?"

"Yeah. We got talking at the party the other day and she's really sweet so we agreed to meet up some time…are you mad?"

"No, of course not." Brooke waved it away and turned back to her computer. Carrie hovered by the door uncertainly. "Are you sure?"

"Why did it have to be Emma? Come on Carrie that is so weird!"

Carrie came in and closed the door. "I knew you'd have a problem with this," she muttered.

"Well duh! She's my ex-husband's girlfriend!"

"She's really sweet, maybe if you just got to know her - "

"I know she's really sweet, I've met her many times. I'm sure she's a lovely person and we'd be great friends…but I don't _want _to get to know her because that would be _weird_."

Carrie sighed. "I guess you're right. But does that mean I can't be friends with her either?"

"No. I can't make you _not_ be friends with someone. Just…know that it's a little strange for me, okay?"

"Sure. I will not talk to you about her, I will make sure you don't meet her with me: you will not know of this friendship."

"Okay, thanks. Although…I don't mind if you talk about her a little."

Carrie smiled. "I knew you'd want some dirt."

"I didn't say dirt! Never mind, just go to work! Have fun at lunch."

Carrie stood up, "Thanks Brooke."

* * *

Brooke was in her office with Mallory, sorting out the schedule for the next set of runway shows. Mallory was humming along to the music they had playing out of her I-pod, as she looked at different options for sequences. 

Brooke looked up from her desk as the song playing changed, a sad smile on her face. She hesitated, and then bit her lip and reached out and skipped to the next track.

Mallory looked up. "What's the deal? There's no skipping on my playlist!"

Brooke waved a hand. "It's just one track."

"But it's an awesome one, don't you like Maroon 5?"

"Yeah I do, it's just…it's nothing, I'm just not in the mood." She shrugged and looked back down at her work.

Mal rocked back on her heels and surveyed Brooke searchingly. "Why don't you like it?"

Brooke looked up, shrugging again. "It's just a song Mal, there's no reason."

Her friend shook her head. "No no, there so is. You're…Brooke Davis are you blushing! What's the deal with this song?"

Brooke sighed. "It's really nothing, and no I'm not!"

"You so are! What is it? Bring back memories or something?"

Brooke said nothing.

"Of what?" Mal continued, guessing she was right.

"It's nothing. Just…something with Lucas." Brooke waved it away, still smiling slightly.

Mal nodded. "Good memory?"

Brooke hesitated, biting her lip. "Um…kind of a…"

"…hot…memory?" Mal offered uncertainly.

Brooke pressed her lips together and Mal laughed. "Right…"

Brooke paused, her teeth on edge, and then put down her pen. "We were fooling around one time, and this song comes on…and I said something about how I thought it was such a hot song, that it was kind of a turn on…"

Mal smirked and Brooke rolled her eyes before she continued. "Anyway so he gets up, leaving me on the bed I might add, and goes and finds it on his computer…

"Luke, what are you doing?" Brooke moaned, a little disgruntled at being left half dressed on Lucas' bed.

_He smirked from where he was sitting with his laptop over on the other bed, which officially belonged to his room mate Freddie but was hardly ever used by him anymore. "I'm finding the song."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you said it turns you on…" he continued to look at the screen, clicking every now and again. Brooke came over and knelt on the bed behind him, her thighs on either side of his back. She looked over his shoulder, resting her chin on it. _

"_Ooh that song's cool too," she said, pointing at on in the long list._

"_What, should I make a playlist?" he joked._

_She grinned. "Yeah! Of all sexy songs. Then you don't get that thing when a totally inappropriate one comes on right when…you know…"_

_Lucas hesitated, then smiled. "Okay."_

_Brooke turned her head and kissed his ear. "Oh put that one on," she said, pointing to another, before turning back to his neck._

"_Okay, you just keep doing that and I'll chose the music."_

_Brooke chuckled, placing another kiss near his jaw._

Brooke smiled to herself at the memory. Mallory had found the excuse sufficient and had allowed her to skip the song, and now they were on some old Goo goo dolls track. Actually, that song kind of reminded her of Lucas too, when they had all played it on a loop for like a week one summer in Tree Hill.

But if she skipped every song that made her think of him, it would be a pretty short playlist.

* * *

Brooke glanced at the doors on either side of her as she made her way through the halls of Amy's school. It was parent/teacher conference evening, and although Brooke had protested that it seemed a little unnecessary for a first grader, she was actually kind of looking forward to hearing the teacher talk about Amy. As long as it wasn't bad stuff. 

She turned a corner and saw a group of parents sitting on chairs in the hallway outside the first grade classroom. She caught sight of Lucas and went over to him; he looked up and smiled as she sat down.

"Hey, I thought I was going to have to go in there alone."

Brooke grinned. "Sorry, I got held up at the office."

"The only good thing about this is it makes me feel really young," Lucas said in an undertone, glancing round at all the other parents.

"I thought you were totally psyched about this?"

"Yeah until I had to sit here for ten minutes listening to some kid's mom talk about grade point averages and math summer schools."

Brooke raised her eyebrows and Lucas nodded. "I'm not kidding. Private school parents are _crazy_."

"But the uniforms are so cute," Brooke said grinning and Lucas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, _that's_ why I'm forking out thousand of dollars every year. So Ames can wear a cute tartan skirt every day."

Brooke nodded. "Yes. And, you know, maybe go to Harvard."

"I like Yale."

"I think we can discuss this later."

"Yeah. Although according to Mrs Hendersomething it's never too early to start considering you're child's future."

"Yeah well she might reconsider when little Hendersomething ends up a depressed anorexic control freak at fifteen."

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah promise me you'll never send Amy to summer school."

"Well not unless she fails math," Brooke quipped.

"Which she's obviously not going to do because, finger crossed, she's got my concentration levels rather than yours."

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding! Anyway your better at math than me, you pretty much run a business."

"Ever heard of calculators?"

"Whatever. As long as she can add up I don't mind. I never really got the point of geometry and stuff."

Brooke raised her eyebrows at Lucas. "Is Lucas Scott being disdainful of _learning_! Anyway, she might want to be an engineer or something."

Lucas gave her a disbelieving look.

"You never know!"

He smiled and nodded. "Okay." She gave him a look and he chuckled. "So how's your week been."

"Pretty good. Oh, I have news for you: Carrie and Toby hooked up."

"Really?" Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Well I guess it's not that surprising."

Brooke shrugged. "I guess not. I don't see why they don't just get back together though."

"He lives on the other side of the country!"

"Yeah but if they're going to hook up every time they see each other…"

Lucas shook his head. "They like each other - probably love each other - but I don't think they want to be in an actual relationship, it would be too complicated. But that doesn't mean they can't…take advantage of their chemistry every now and again."

Brooke gave him a look and he shrugged. "Neither of them's with anyone."

"Seems like it just causes unnecessary pain if you ask me."

"Well if they think it's worth it…"

He caught her eye and she got a feeling he might have been talking about their past as well. She was about to say something when the classroom door opened.

They both round at the teacher. "Amy's parents?" she asked into the group of adults.

Lucas stood up, and the teacher saw them and smiled. Brooke stood too and Lucas placed a hand lightly on her back as he guided her into the classroom.

Brooke wasn't sure if it was because of what they'd just been talking about, or simply because she wasn't really used to him touching her, but she felt a tingle go up her spine, and maybe she was imagining it, but when they sat down and he took his hand away, it skimmed across her back, lingering for just a second.

"So, Mr Scott, Ms Davis, Amy's doing very well," the teacher, Mrs Walker, began. Brooke and Lucas listened attentively as she talked a little about Math, reading and writing. Brooke was surprised to find herself sitting in a classroom and actually being interested in what a teacher was saying.

Mrs Walker moved on to general issues. "Amy's got a lot of friends, but I'm sure you know that. She's a great kid; always very happy. Do you mind if I ask, how long has it been since the two of you separated?"

"Uh, about five years," Brooke said. "Amy was very young."

"Yes, she seems very well adjusted. Sadly divorce isn't uncommon among parents of kids here, and some of them tend to…act out a little in response."

"I don't think she can remember when we were together," Lucas said, "So she's used to spending time with us separately."

"It must help that you're on good terms."

Brooke smiled. "It makes it easier."

Mrs Walker smiled too. "Well, thank you both for coming. You can assure Amy she's doing great!"

"Thank you." They both stood up.

"See you soon," Brooke said.

"Bye!"

* * *

"Well that went well." 

"Yup. She's not failing math."

Lucas chuckled. "Do you want to get some coffee?" he asked as they came out of the school gates.

"Yeah sure," she checked her watch, "I can't be too long though cause Alex is with Amy. You should come back and say hi," she suggested.

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

"We can get some coffee on the way," Brooke said, as they approached a Starbucks, and he followed her inside.

As they came out again, each with a tall cup of hot coffee, though Brooke's had vanilla in it, Lucas felt an urge to ask about something that had been on his mind recently.

"The other day, at my party, you mentioned you'd…had a long week," he began hesitantly. "That you were maybe dealing with some memories?"

Brooke nodded slowly. "Yeah. I just…I don't know. It's kind of funny…hanging out with you again."

They stopped at a crossing and Lucas glanced at her. He hesitated before he spoke. "Sometimes if I've had a bad day everything can start to get overwhelming…I start thinking about choices I've made and the way my life's gone. I just mean…I know how you feel."

Brooke absorbed this silently. "I guess sometimes stuff just doesn't work out how you thought it would," she said finally.

Lucas nodded. "I never thought my life would turn out like this. It's kind of funny, I'm playing for the Knicks, which I never thought would really happen in a million years…and the one thing I thought I was sure of didn't work out."

Brooke met his eyes, and gave him a sad smile.

They had reached her building, and he placed a hand on her arm as they stood inside waiting for the elevator.

"You're happy though, right?" he asked.

She smiled, thinking of Amy upstairs. "Yes."

He was glad he could still read her well enough to know she meant it. He nodded. "Good."

She smiled again; the empty feeling that had lingered the last couple of weeks deflating. He smiled back, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers cupping the back of her neck as he pulled her towards him into a hug.

She leant her face against the soft leather of his jacket, her body leaning against his.

"Good," he whispered again.

When Brooke opened the door upstairs they were met with the sound of a howl of despair from Amy. It appeared Alex had just scored another basket in their game of indoor basketball, involving the nerf-basket Nathan had given Amy for Christmas.

Amy turned round when she heard the door open, and grinned widely as she saw both her parents.

"Dad!"

"Hey sweetheart. How's the game going?" He asked as she ran over to him.

"It's first to ten, and Alex has nine and I only have seven!"

"Well let's see what we can do about that," Lucas said as he scooped Amy up in one arm. He held up his other hand and Alex grinned as she threw him the ball. He aimed carefully and tossed it at the basket from his position by the door.

Alex gave a whoop of approval and Brooke rolled her eyes. "Show off."

Lucas gave her a hurt look and she chuckled as she went into the kitchen area.

"What do you think? Does that count as a three-pointer?" Lucas asked Amy.

"Well…we were counting baskets not points…and seeing as I didn't actually throw it…"

Alex chuckled. "I guess we'll just have to keep playing then Ames."

Amy nodded and Lucas set her down. "Don't keep Alex too long though Ames," Brooke said, "She'll want to get back to her own home sometime!"

"But I'm gonna win this game first!" Alex said, as Amy threw her the ball to try a shot.

Lucas went and sat next to Brooke at the counter to watch, where she was flipping through that day's paper. He caught her eye briefly and she smiled.

She could deal with some memories of the past; Lucas was there to talk to, and he understood what she was feeling even when she couldn't really understand it herself. And anyway, she thought, as she watched Amy raise her arms in the air as she made a shot, she was perfectly happy with the present.

_**Please review! **_

_Next time we'll have some more Lucas thoughts, and more fun at Brooke's office…_


	10. Going Out

_**Hey peeps!** Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, although I was a little disappointed that it wasn't very many, I hope people are still reading this!_

_I really wanted to get a post up before I go away tomorrow, because I might not be able to update for two weeks till I get back, although I'll try if I have some time._

Lucas rolled onto his back, his arm falling to his side. He stared up at the ceiling for a minute, and then closed his eyes, trying to make himself feel tired.

He only succeeded in making his eyes hurt however, and so opened them again. He turned his head to one side and looked at Emma, lying fast asleep on her side, her body rising and falling with slow even breaths.

A thought slipped into his head and he shook it out again; it was a random memory that had re-emerged, there was no need to think about it.

He turned his head the other way and looked out of the window. Another thought formed against his will, and he gave up, succumbing to the image that was taking shape.

Ever since his birthday, when Brooke had mentioned something about 'dealing with memories' he had been unable to stop thinking about her.

Not in a intense way or anything – he didn't sit around thinking about her all day - there was just something at the back of his mind…he was aware of her again. She seemed to feature in his mind, not so much thinking _about_ her as just thinking of her.

He glanced at Emma again, wondering if she had noticed his slight lack of concentration recently. It was hard to tell what she was thinking sometimes; he wasn't sure how she felt about him spending more time with Brooke recently.

When he first went to lunch with Brooke, he was a little nervous about how Emma would react – his and Brooke's re-forming friendship was totally innocent of course, but still, she was his ex-wife. But Emma seemed to be completely fine about it; it was one of the reasons they he and Brooke had been able to slip back into a friendship so easily: no one commented on it, at least, not to them. It seemed everyone found it entirely natural.

Lucas sighed quietly and lifted his hands behind his head, interlacing his fingers. He figured it was just because he had been spending more time with Brooke that he was thinking about her. After all, she had always had a way of overwhelming his thoughts.

Pretty soon life was sure to take over again though, and she would return to a small figure in the back of his mind.

* * *

The late April sunlight was streaming through the windows of Brooke's office as she sat at her desk. It was a Saturday and she was a little pissed off at having to come into work, but Lucas had agreed to come and pick Amy up from there, so at least she didn't have to call Alex in.

Brooke tipped her head on one side as she perused the two photographs…the lighting was better in that one…but the dress fell a little better there…

She was interrupted by her assistant buzzing her. "Brooke, Lucas is here."

"Oh great, tell him to come up."

"He is up, he's outside."

She chuckled. "Alright I'll be out in a second."

She pushed her chair back and headed for the door of her office, opening it and going out into the larger room that housed Pippa's desk and various deputies cornered off areas.

"Hey Lucas."

He looked up from the mirror on Pippa's desk, wearing a pair of sunglasses that still had the tag on. "Do these suit me?"

Brooke gave him a weird look. "Did you steal those from downstairs?"

"We just got some sent up to approve the labels," Pippa said.

Brooke nodded, as Lucas took them off, putting them back on the desk.

"Hi by the way."

She smiled. "Amy went to annoy Mallory, she should - "

"I called her," Pippa said quickly, "She's on her way."

Brooke turned to her. "Thanks."

Lucas caught her eye and hid a smile.

"Well come into my office, she'll just be a minute."

Lucas followed her back through the door, which she left open. Brooke sat behind her desk again and Lucas flopped down in one of the large swivel chairs on the other side of it. He swivelled round, looking around him.

"Did you get new pot plants?"

Brooke laughed.

"Oh no I know what's different, this office is about twice the size of the last one!"

Brooke smiled abashed, and Lucas grinned. "It's pretty amazing Brooke."

"Yeah, it's not bad."

Lucas swivelled round again. "I think one of your deputies is checking me out," he said quietly, glancing back through the open door again.

"Pippa?"

"Noo, she is working diligently! Second desk along…oh no, now they're all looking." He turned round again, quirking his eyebrows.

Brooke laughed. "They're not used to having an All-star around…or maybe they're just intrigued by the 'ex-husband'."

"Ooh, am I a bit of a mystery?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Well I don't talk about you all that often."

Lucas shrugged. "A little ashamed of me? Well I guess I can see why…it's not like I was voted 3rd sexiest man in New York or anything…"

"Nice to see that hasn't gone to your head by the way," Brooke quipped.

Lucas grinned. "I try to stay grounded."

Brooke shook her head in despair.

"Hey come on! I had years of being the less attractive half of 'Brucas' or whatever the hell Cari insisted on calling us for that week. It's nice to finally get some attention."

"Oh whatever! You had an entire cheerleading squad at your feet all through high school and NYU!"

"They were all after Nathan, no one took a second look at me until you started dating me – and then it was usually just football players who wanted to beat me up."

Brooke giggled and Lucas smiled. "You know it's true," he said, his tone dropping. "If you'd stuck with modelling you'd be topping every poll in the country by now – and probably dating the number 1 sexiest guy in New York."

Brooke wrinkled her nose. "Justin Karlman? He's got a bad chin."

Lucas grinned.

"Oh here she is!" Brooke stood up as Amy came in grinning and climbed into Lucas' lap. "Hey daddy!"

"Hey baby. Have fun with Mallory?"

"Daddy when I grow up I want to be a designer – you just get to draw all day!"

"Not a big executive like Mommy?" Lucas asked. "You get a really big office," he whispered. "With pot plants."

Brooke smiled as she leant against the front of her desk.

Amy looked around. "Hmm…can I be a designer in a big office?"

Lucas looked up at Brooke. "Well…we'll see what we can do. Maybe your Mom could get Mr. Lauren to pull a few strings."

Brooke rolled her eyes, and Lucas grinned.

Outside Brooke's assistants tried to peer round the door from their desks, very intrigued by Lucas and his relationship with Brooke.

Mallory came in, carrying some more samples for Brooke.

"What's going on in there?" she asked Janie as she looked into Brooke's office. Janie shrugged. "Family reunion!"

* * *

"Okay, we're gonna do the quiz." Carrie sat up on Brooke's sofa and folded her legs under her, grabbing a pen and folding back the cover of the issue of Cosmo she was holding. 

Brooke looked up absently from the 'Vogue' she was reading. "Okay."

"It's to find your ideal man."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Boring."

"Whatever, it could be revealing." Carrie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, to start: hair – immediately divides the nation's men into easy categories. You can wipe out like half the options straight away."

"Yeah, except I don't really have a preference."

"Really?"

"Well dark I guess, but that's probably just cause I am."

"Dark? But Lucas is blonde."

"So? He's not my ideal guy. I left him, remember?" Brooke joked.

"Yeah but not cause of his hair colour!"

"Fine, blonde, whatever."

"Yeah," Carrie nodded, "Although, I dunno…maybe you'd look good with a dark haired guy. You know how we could find out? If you _dated_!"

Brooke groaned and rolled her eyes. "Carrie I do date!"

"You haven't been out with anyone in ages. And you never stay with anyone."

"Well I don't want to mess Amy around. If I'm with one guy for a while and she starts to get to know him, and then he suddenly leaves, that's just going to upset her."

"She's not a baby anymore Brooke, she'd understand if you needed to break up with someone."

"She's still only six. I just don't want to go through the whole relationship thing."

"Well what if you met someone you really liked. Then you wouldn't have to break up. You know, if you start out with negative - "

"Yeah yeah, whatever. But come on, New York is notorious for the lack of great bachelors, I mean, Sex and the City managed six series on that fact."

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you could still go on a date, even if you don't want a relationship. Just do what you usually do, go out at the weekend when Amy is with Lucas and she never has to know."

Brooke sighed. "Who would I go out with though?"

Carrie changed tack. "Come out with me and Tess, you can meet someone."

Brooke hesitated. "Actually, I did manage to get out of going to this benefit thing on Friday; Alex is coming over to baby-sit Amy anyway…"

"Great! You can come out with us instead."

* * *

"Man this place is full of hot girls!" Mike grinned as he surveyed the club. 

"Can't you at least call them women?" Lucas asked, already dreading the night ahead. Whenever he came out with the guys it would always start off great, and then they would inevitably meet some women who they'd all start talking to, and then there'd be that horrible moment when the others would hook up with someone and some poor hopeful girl would be left with him and he'd have to explain that he was seeing someone.

He tried to slip that fact in as early as possible to avoid this scenario, but then the women would just start ignoring him.

"Dude, please tell me you're not going to be grouchy all night."

"Did you just say grouchy? And if you didn't want me to be, you shouldn't have made me come."

Mike rolled his eyes.

"Cut him some slack man," their third friend, Avery, chipped in. "It's got to be pretty hard being in here and knowing you can't hook up with any of these women. And Lucas, dude, you know why he wants you here – you reel them in, he takes them home."

"Hey!" Mike objected. "I can get my own girls."

"Yeah right. They get bored of you in two minutes and then he pulls his 'Dante' shit."

"That was one time!" Mike and Lucas both objected. "And it wasn't even Dante," Lucas added.

"Whatever."

"Okay, shut up shut up," Mike said, "three amazing girls just came in - "

"Women - "

"Whatever. A Redhead, brunette and ooh, kind of a caramel - "

"Dude you sound gay - "

"Whatever, just past the bar." He nodded his head, and Avery looked round. "Okay I hate to say it but the man has taste." He nudged Lucas. "We're going to talk to them."

Lucas glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of the trio they must be referring to: a stunning African American woman with light brown highlighted hair, and a brunette and redhead with their backs to him, each in a short dress and heels that accentuated their slim figures.

"Guys, you're going to crash and _burn_," he said, chuckling.

"We'll see…"

Lucas shook his head and he followed them over there, still laughing to himself.

"Can we buy you some drinks?" Mike asked as he stopped by the three women.

The two nearest him turned, and Lucas stopped laughing.

Brooke raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"Hey Luke."

Mike looked round confused, and Avery looked down and shuffled his feet. Lucas cleared his throat and then stepped forward, placing a hand on Brooke's waist as he kissed her cheek. Mike's jaw dropped as realisation dawned.

Lucas greeted Carrie as well, who introduced him to Tess.

"So what are you doing here?" Brooke asked. "Would Emma approve?"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "I'm just here to accompany these guys," he said, holding up his hands.

"Which is why you guys were hitting on _three_ girls."

"We weren't hitting on you," Mike attempted.

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Please. Oh and, we would like some drinks actually – three cosmos."

Avery nodded and went to get them, while Lucas turned to Brooke. "And what are you doing here?"

"Girls' night out," Brooke said with a shrug. Carrie threw her a look but Brooke ignored it.

"And what about Ames?"

"She's at home with a babysitter."

"See this is why Brooke doesn't come out enough anymore," Carrie said, huffing. "It's all your fault – guilt tripping her!"

"I do not!" Lucas said, "I was kidding," he backtracked.

Truthfully though, he felt weird about the idea of Brooke going out. Obviously she did, after all she attended work things all the time. But somehow that was different from her going out to a club with friends, where there were probably guys hitting on her the whole time just as Mike had been.

He put it down to wanting to protect his daughter, but maybe it was something about Brooke too. He knew it was unfair seeing as he was with Emma, but he couldn't imagine her being with someone else.

Carrie eyed Lucas as she excepted her Cosmo from Avery. She had been so pleased that she had persuaded Brooke to go out; it was time she met someone, if only to have a fun fling. But now it looked like Lucas' presence might slow the process somewhat…

To be continued…

_**Please review!**_


	11. The guy in her life

_Hey guys! Thank you so much for the reviews for the last chapter, I really loved them all. Sorry it's been a couple of weeks, I've been away (in the USA actually, which meant I got to see a whole episode of OTH in real time – woo!) Luckily the jet lag from getting back on Wednesday means I can't get to sleep for hours, so could write this chapter all night! Hope you like it, it's pretty Lucas centric, cause I feel we don't hear enough from him. Oh, and it starts where the last one left off…_

"I would think basketball players got a lot of dates," Tess mused, as Avery joked about Lucas just being there to get Mike girls. "Apart from like, the seven foot giant-freaks."

"Hey!" Avery said.

"Oh your just tall, honey, not a freak," she said with a smile.

"People only really know the starting liners," Mike said, narrowing his eyes at the guys with him."

"Is that not you?" Tess asked.

"There's only room for one short guy on the court at a time," Lucas said with a grin.

"I'm taller than you," Mike complained.

"But I got better game."

Brooke laughed into her drink and Lucas glared at her.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"She still thinks I play like in high school," he said to the others. "I'm a lot better!"

She patted his arm. "I know sweetie."

"See I always thought all basketball players _had_ to be tall," Carrie said, "I never got that about you," she said to Lucas.

"Hey I'm not short!"

Carrie looked between him and Avery. "Uh huh, sure. In basketball terms you are!"

"Nate Robinson was 5'10"," Mike chipped in.

"Exactly," Lucas said.

"Who?"

"Never mind."

"Anyway Mike why would you chose Lucas to help you meet women?" Brooke asked, casting a disdainful look over Lucas.

"Hey! I'm a great catch."

Brooke opened her mouth to retort back and then gave unwillingly gave a half nod.

"See, you can't disagree cause it would just make you look bad."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever. However, you're also seeing someone."

"I'm also married."

Brooke raised her eyebrows and nodded. "That too."

"Exactly," said Mike. "He draws the girls in and then when they realise he's unavailable they have to settle for the next best thing."

"You look oddly happy about this arrangement," Carrie said, frowning slightly.

"We think he got hit on the head with a basketball as a kid," Avery said in an undertone.

"I'm not sure I'm happy about my 'husband' being pimped out like this," Brooke said.

Lucas shrugged. "Unfortunately you gave up your wife's veto when you moved out."

"Along with the stealing your French fries thing?"

"Yeah, that too."

"Dang… So what did you give up?"

"The husband's veto," Lucas said, and then glanced at her before taking a sip of his drink, "And doing you in that dress."

Brooke turned and gaped at him. "Luke!"

He chuckled.

"That is very inappropriate," she said, though she was smiling.

"I'm sorry," he said, still laughing at her expression.

"Yeah you should be." She shook her head, tutting at him.

* * *

Lucas came out from the bathroom back into the club, quickly catching sight of the group. Avery was easy to spot. 

As he approached he noticed there were a couple of other people with them, a blonde girl Mike was talking to, and a dark haired guy with Carrie.

His eyes flicked over the group again, but he still couldn't see her. A slight frown flitted across his face.

Carrie turned as she caught sight of him. "Hey Lucas, meet Vince Ross. Vince, this is my friend Lucas Scott."

Lucas extended a hand and Vince shook it.

"Hey man, I'm a big fan of the Knicks."

Lucas smiled. "Well then I apologise for our season."

Vince chuckled but shook his head. "No, you had some good games. It's your coach who needs fixing."

Lucas gave a non-committal shrug. "Well I'm not really allowed to say anything about that but…yeah, we're working on it."

Vince nodded. "Good. Well then I have high hopes for next season."

"Okay, so glad you guys could meet," Carrie said, and Lucas hid a smile at her look, one that said 'enough basketball talk'.

He turned to go and talked to the others, sensing she's prefer to talk alone, but then paused. "Um, hey, where's Brooke?"

"Oh she went to get a drink," Carrie said.

Lucas nodded and left them, casting his eyes around the club. He spotted her quickly, and then gave another slow nod as he saw she was talking to a guy. He said something and she laughed, and Lucas watched for a second before he shook himself, realising what he was doing, and turned to go and talk to the others.

* * *

"Hey Carrie," Lucas touched her arm and she turned. "I've gotta get home; can you say bye to Brooke for me?" 

"Yeah sure, she's around somewhere though - "

"Yeah, I don't want to…disturb her or anything…"

"Okay sure."

"Thanks. See you soon," he said as he turned to leave.

"Yeah, see you…"

She watched him leave with a pensive expression, and then shook her head, turning back to Vince.

* * *

At around two the girls were getting ready to leave the club. Carrie had said goodbye to Vince, and Tess had avoided giving Mike her number, while slipping it to Avery. Brooke had rejoined them. 

"So…?" Carrie asked.

"What?" Brooke asked with a smile.

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Who is he?"

"His name's John…he's a doctor."

"Ooh. Is he nice?"

"Yeah," Brooke smiled, "Yeah, he's really nice."

Carrie grinned. "Well I think that is mission accomplished!"

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Hey where's Lucas?" she asked a minute later as she looked around.

"Oh he left earlier," Carrie said. "He said he had to get home but he told be to say goodbye to you."

"Oh." Brooke nodded. "Okay."

Carrie glanced at her. "You ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah. Let's go."

* * *

Lucas held Amy's hand as they crossed the street, heading out for breakfast on, a Sunday morning. It was two weeks since he'd met Brooke at the club, and a casual enquiry to Brooke when she had dropped of Amy the previous weekend had ascertained that the guy she had met was called John, and he was nice. 

Lucas had persuaded himself that he didn't need to know anything more.

Amy was talking about some stupid spelling quiz her teacher had given their class, but had then spelled the words out for them.

"I mean, we're not babies! I could actually spell some of those words!"

Lucas chuckled as she continued her rant.

They were about to go inside the café where they often ate, when Lucas stopped. Through the glass he had caught sight of Brooke inside, holding a cup of coffee as she talked to John.

"Dad?" Amy looked up.

"How about we get pancakes baby girl?" he suggested, scooping her up into his arms before she spotted her mother.

"Okay!"

Lucas started down the street again, holding Amy on one hip.

"Can I get the ones with chocolate chips _and_ peanut butter?" she asked.

"Ooh that sounds good, we might have to _each_ get a stack of those." Lucas smiled as his daughter grinned, and he tried to concentrate on her rather than her mother.

* * *

When Amy was tucked in bed on Sunday night, Lucas found his thoughts drifting back to Brooke and the guy he'd seen her with. Emma was out of town and so he went into the living room rather than going to bed, switching on the TV but not really watching. 

Lucas dug his hands in his pockets as he stood in the elevator of the Tree Hill Harbour Inn, the hotel where Brooke was staying with her parents for Christmas. He was so glad she didn't have to go back to California, but he was also a little nervous. It was kind of ridiculous that even though he and Brooke were in like the third reincarnation of their relationship, he still wasn't sure if her parents liked him.

_He headed down the hallway to their suite, and knocked lightly on the door._

_There was a moment of silence, and then Brooke's voice. "Who is it?"_

"_It's Luke."_

_He heard a sound and then the door opened, and Brooke stood back to let him in._

"_Hey, are your parents not here?"_

"_Uh, no. They're out."_

_He tipped his head on one side. "You okay?"_

"_Yeah." She gave him a brief smile and headed back into the living room area. "Do you want a drink?" she asked. "There's coke and stuff in the mini bar."_

"_I'm fine, thanks." He followed her, reaching out and taking her hand. "Brooke, what happened?"_

_She shrugged. "What always does." She swallowed and tapped her teeth together. _

"_I just…I thought they'd lay off the whole yelling at each other…yelling at me…thing. I mean, they haven't seen me in months…and…it's Christmas!" Her voice caught and Lucas felt a lump in his throat. He pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms tightly round her, holding the back of her head._

_Brooke let out a shaky breath as she hugged him back, her cheek pressed against his neck and her eyes shut against his shoulder._

_He kissed the side of her head, stroking her hair._

_She moved her hands between them and unzipped his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. He let go of her and let it fall to the floor, and wrapped his arms around her again._

"_Your jacket was scratchy," she murmured._

_He chuckled quietly, rubbing her back._

"_I just wanted a normal family for once Luke," she whispered._

_He kissed her hair again. "I'll be your family," he said. "You've always got me Brooke."_

_He felt her nod against his shoulder and smiled, pressing his lips against her hair again, harder._

"_I love you so much," she whispered. "I love you so much."_

Lucas couldn't smile at the memory.

He missed…being the one who looked after her. That was it. Of course at first he'd missed everything – the sex, joking around with her, hanging out with their friends – but it had been a while, and he'd got used to all of that. Accepted that their relationship was over. And especially now that he had been seeing more of her he couldn't miss _her_.

He'd thought everything was perfect. He had Amy, and Emma, and he still got to hang out with Brooke sometimes, when only her particular kind of humour, or only her understanding would do it.

But maybe…maybe it wasn't enough just to have her there. It wasn't so much that he needed her there all the time…just certain times. He wanted to me the one who she could go to, would go to, when she needed to feel safe, or to talk. He wanted to be…_the_ guy in her life.

He realised what hurt so much was that he wasn't _it_ for her.

* * *

"Hey Ames, when we get home today, there's someone I want you to meet," Brooke said, as she and Amy were walking home from her school. 

"Who?"

"His name's John, and he's…a man I've been seeing recently."

"Like a boyfriend?" Amy asked.

Brooke gave a half nod. "Yeah, like a boyfriend." It had been a little over two weeks and in her head she just called it dating, but 'boyfriend' sounded fine.

"Okay."

Brooke glanced down at Amy. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, sure."

Despite Amy's apparent happiness about meeting John, Brooke was still a little apprehensive as they went up to the apartment in the elevator. They'd met after work that afternoon, because Monday was usually a light day for her, and she'd figured it was as good a time as any for him to meet Amy, so when she went to pick her up from school she suggested he just wait at the apartment.

Now she was wondering if maybe a Starbucks or something would have been better…Amy might not like him just suddenly appearing in their home.

When she and Amy went in, John came out of the kitchen holding a glass of orange juice.

"Hi, you must be Amy."

"Yup. Are you John?"

"Yeah, I take it your Mom said I'd be hear, otherwise I would have hoped you'd be a little more surprised to see a strange man in your house."

Brooke chuckled and Amy nodded. "Yeah she said, otherwise I might have called the cops."

"Really? I don't think I look that scary."

Amy shrugged. "There is a white on the hooks, so I might have figured you were a doctor."

"That's very smart of you."

"Are you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Do you where that coat everywhere so you can tell people that?"

John chuckled. "No, but I came from the hospital and I wanted to take my coat home to clean it."

"Did you get puke on you like they do in ER?"

"Nope, I try to wear scrubs as much as possible, but the coat got some blood on it."

"Ew."

"You watch ER? That's pretty cool."

"Dad says I shouldn't, but sometimes he lets me, cause he knows Mom will let me anyway."

John smiled at Brooke and she gave a shrug. "I make her close her eyes in the bad bits, and whatever she says Lucas would let her even if I didn't. I'm going to get a drink, do you want something Ames?"

Amy shook her head. "No thanks mom."

"So I was right," John said, as they followed Brooke into the kitchen. "You do look like your mom."

"Well you could have seen that from the pictures of me everywhere," Amy said.

"Well pictures can be deceiving, you look a little more mischievous in person than you do in pictures."

Amy grinned. "Well I am pretty mischiffus."

When Brooke put Amy to bed that night, long after John had gone, Amy said, "I like him mom."

"You do?"

She nodded. "He's funny."

Brooke smiled.

Amy leant up and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you have a boyfriend."

* * *

"So is it nice living in Brooklyn?" Lucas asked, as he looked out of the window of Peyton and Jake's apartment. He'd come over to hang out with them; he always had a lot more free time in off season, and he thought a chat with Peyton might help him feel a little better about the whole issue of Brooke and John. 

Peyton shrugged as she cleared away their lunch plates. "Yeah, it's nice. I mean, sometimes it's a little annoying to be over the bridge from all you guys and the museums and everything, but we've got a lot more space than we'd have in Manhattan."

Lucas nodded slowly and dug his hands in his pockets. "I'm thinking of moving."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know…I think maybe it's not a good idea. Us living so close together, me and Brooke."

Peyton frowned. "Why? It's easy for you to take Amy to hers, you're both near Amy's school, you can see each other around."

Lucas hesitated. "I just…I think we need our own lives."

"I thought you liked her being in your life."

"I do! I…I just don't want to impose on…anything."

"Luke, what happened? What's brought this on?"

Lucas sighed. He knew this would sound stupid. "I was taking Amy to breakfast the other day and…we were about to go into this café when I saw Brooke in there, with John – that…guy she's been dating."

Peyton narrowed her eyes. "Okay…and this upset you because…you saw your friend having a fun time?"

"No, of course not - "

"You saw Brooke with another guy?"

There was a beat. "No. It didn't upset me…I just…you know, we couldn't go in there - "

"So you're mad you had to change your breakfast place?"

"No. Peyton!"

She chuckled. "I'm sorry, I'm being unhelpful. But look, Luke, you both decided it would be mice to live near each other, remember? When you were looking for a new place last year one of the things you liked about it was it was nearer to Brooke. And so if you bump into each other every now and again then what's the problem? You're part of each other's lives."

"I know, and I like that. But I mean…when she's on a _date - _"

"Okay yeah, you don't want to be having breakfast next to them. Sometimes you're just going to have to avoid her. But it's not like that's going to happen that often."

"Yeah…"

"I get it Lucas. I mean, it's Brooke. It's the first time in a while she's been with a guy so I'm not surprised you're freaking out a little bit."

"I'm not freaking out…"

Peyton rolled her eyebrows. "O-kay."

"What? I'm not!"

"You were thinking of moving!"

"That was – you know, to have our own area and stuff…"

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Uh huh." She caught his expression and softened. "You'll be fine. Brooke got through it; you think it was easy for her with Emma at first?"

Lucas nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay."

"And you know, if it feels too weird, then you should just talk to her. She'd understand, I mean - it you guys – you get each other."

Lucas shook his head. "I don't want to complicate things."

Peyton bit her lip and then nodded. "Okay, well, the rest of us are always here. And I promise, it'll get better."

He smiled and she checked her watch. "Ah, sorry I gotta go pick up Ellie."

"Okay. Thanks Peyton."

She smiled. "Anytime."

They both left the apartment and Lucas headed to his car. He wondered if Brooke really had felt weird about Emma. He remembered when they had first started going out he had tried to avoid having her around when Brooke would come by to pick up Amy, or when the whole gang would meet up, not that that was so often then before the others had moved.

If she had she'd hidden pretty well, and she'd never said anything to him about it. But then of course, he'd be the last person she'd talk to.

* * *

Brooke flipped the folder she was reading shut as she heard the phone ring, and reached over the end of the sofa to get it. 

"Hello?"

"Hey Tigger. When are you gonna get caller id?"

"Sometimes it's nice to be surprised."

Haley chuckled. "Is Ames in bed?"

"Yup." She looked over at the clock. "It's like eleven, Hales."

"Well you never know with you."

"Hey! I always get to bed on time."

"I'm kidding! Come on, you're the best mom I know."

"Well you'd better not be including yourself there."

"Ah, so nice to have my ego massaged after a long day," Haley said, smiling.

Brooke laughed. "So what's up?"

"Not much. Just wondering what you were doing on Saturday; the kids, and by that I mean Jack persuaded Leyla she wanted to do this, want to go to see at the cinema, and it's like the last thing I want to see _ever_, so Nathan said he'd take them."

"Sweet! Well Ames will be with Luke so we can hang out."

"Great."

"We should go to a spa or something…"

"Well if you can get us there and back before the movies over…Although, I could maybe persuade Nathan to take them for ice cream after…"

"Yeah, you work on that!"

Haley grinned. "Okay, well in the mean time, I want to hear the latest on John."

"I already told you about him!"

"You told me you'd met some doctor guy called John. I want _details_."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Okay. Shoot."

"What does he look like?"

"Um…he's got light brown hair…kinda tall…"

"Yeah, you're really painting a picture there for me. Is he hot? I mean good enough for _you_ hot?"

"Since when does that matter! You're meant to be all about the inside Hales?"

"Since when? Why do you think I married Nathan for crying out loud?"

"Hales!"

"Okay, I'm kidding. I married him for the social security."

"Hales! I'm gonna call him!"

"Fine fine. It was cause I love the stupid guy. And it doesn't matter what John looks like." There was a pause. "But is he hot?"

"Yes. He's hot."

"See! I knew he would be."

"What, cause I'm shallow?"

"No! Cause an ugly guy wouldn't even bother approaching you in the first place."

Brooke shook her head.

"Has he met Ames yet?" Haley continued, unable to see her.

"Yes."

"Ooh, so he's not just a weekend guy?"

Brooke smiled. "Nope."

Most of the guys Brooke had dated since she and Lucas had split up had been 'weekend guys', who she only saw when Amy was with Lucas. She didn't want to introduce someone into Amy's life unless they would be sticking around for a bit, or were someone Amy would like.

"That's good. Has he met Luke?"

"No. That lovely moment is still to come."

Haley chuckled. "It'll be fine. Lucas is good with awkward moments."

"No he's not! He's terrible!"

"Okay, so maybe sometimes he lets an awkward silence or two fall, but at least he doesn't tell bad jokes or talk too much."

"Hmm…" Brooke muttered uncertainly.

"It'll be fine; you're fine about Emma."

"Do you not remember the first time I met her! I drove upstate to your house and had a complete freak out!"

"Oh yeah…but I'm sure during the actual moment of meeting her you were very civil. And that was about Ames anyway, not about Luke."

"Well yeah, that's what he's going to be worried about. Some random guy hanging out with his daughter, what else?"

"How about some random guy hanging out with his wife?"

"Oh Hales." Brooke groaned. "Ex wife. Don't start."

"Start what? I'm just saying, it's gotta be weird for you guys to see each other with other people."

"It's fine. Really, it's…fine."

"Mm hm."

"Hales."

"Okay. Sorry."

There was a beat and then Haley asked, grinning again: "So have you slept with him yet?"

"Hales!"

"What? I'm just asking."

"Yes."

"Ooh. Is the doctor good in bed?"

"Okay I'm hanging up."

Haley tutted. "You're getting prudish in your old age…"

"Old! I'm _so_ hanging up now!"

* * *

Haley opened the door on Saturday with Leyla in her arms, and Brooke raised her eyebrows as she came in and greeted her. 

"Leyla's sick so she didn't go with Nate and Jack to the movies," Haley explained.

"Oh what's wrong?"

"She's got a fever, it's not too bad, but I hate it when my babies are sick." Haley stuck out her bottom lip.

Brooke crinkled her forehead. "I know, it's so sad when there's nothing you can do to make them feel better."

Haley nodded, stroking Leyla's hair, who was quietly tearful.

"Sorry the place is a bit of a mess."

Brooke waved this comment away as they made their way into the kitchen. "When Ames is sick I don't think about _anything_ else. Plates just pile up in the sink, Alex has to come round to look after me!"

Haley chuckled. "Do you want a drink?"

"No I'm fine."

"So," Haley began, as she placed Leyla in her high chair, "I've had this awesome idea about he summer."

"Ooh, great, I keep meaning to book something."

"Well, I was thinking we should have a holiday together, all of us with the kids."

"Yeah, that would be great! We'd need quite a big place though, for six…or seen of us, if Emma is around." Brooke added hesitantly.

"Exactly, which was what I was thinking. And then I was talking to my producer the other day and he mentioned how he wouldn't be able to get out to his house in Italy this summer, and how he was really bummed. So…I mentioned I was looking for a place to go this summer, and he said I could borrow it! And Brooke, it _huge_. It's this gorgeous villa with like nine bedrooms!"

Brooke gaped. "Oh that sounds amazing!"

"It sounds just like the one in France the three of us went to a couple of years ago, but about three times the size."

"That's so great."

"And so with nine rooms I figured we could invite some other people as well. The kids always want to share rooms anyway, so Carrie could come, or you could bring John."

"Yeah, I'll call them, I'm sure they'd love to come."

Brooke was pleased with the idea. Living in a house with Lucas and Emma might get a little awkward, so it would be nice to have some extra people around, just to be like a 'buffer'.

Nevertheless, it would be really great to spend some time with Amy and Lucas together; she hadn't seen that much of him recently, and she missed seeing him play with their daughter.

_A much longer chapter this time to make up for the short one last time. **Please review!** _

_I'll try and get the next one up soon too, but I'm back at school soon and I have to revise for GCSEs (these horrible and very stupid exams English people have to take). But the 'holiday' is gonna rock and I can't wait to write it, so it shouldn't be too long…_

_I really wanted to get this up before Friday so I can encourage all my readers to vote for my story 'Under Your Skin' in the OTH Writer's 911 board awards. It's nominated for best AU story, and best BL AU story, so if you've read it and liked it, I'd love the votes! Or go and vote for anything you want, Friday is the last day and there are loads of great categories_

_Fanfiction doesn't let you put in links, but here's the address: onetreehillwriters911/index.php?showforum136_


	12. Don't even Realise

_New chapter is here! It's a nice long one cause you guys had to wait a little quite a while, hope you like it!_

_For whoever asked, Lucas and Emma are **not** married. I wouldn't do that to you guys! When they were talking about him being married, it's cause technically he and Brooke are still married, as they separated, but never divorced._

_Here we go:_

Brooke yawned and re-adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she stood in the queue for the check-in desks at JFK airport. As much as she was looking forward to this holiday, she _hated_ queues.

Amy apparently shared her mothers dislike for standing in long lines, and was leaning on the top of Brooke's big suitcase with a very grumpy expression on her face, her own smaller, pink suitcase standing next to her.

Brooke reached down and ruffled Amy's hair. "It won't be much longer now sweetheart."

Amy just rolled her eyes; she could see the size of the queue herself.

"When's dad gonna be here?" Amy asked, pushing herself up on her arms and looking round.

"Soon," Brooke said, "And the others too. We were a little early."

"Well we wouldn't have been if we'd left when _I_ said we should have."

"You know what we're like Ames, when you and me have to get out of the house it always takes us twice as long as we think, and for something as important as going on holiday it's better not to risk it."

Amy rolled her eyes again but smiled a little; she liked the fact that she and her mother were alike. Her dad always said it took Brooke forever to get ready for anything.

Brooke suddenly saw Amy's eyes light up, and turned to see Lucas and Emma approaching with their bags.

They excused themselves as they cut into the line next to Brooke, and Lucas set down his bag and lifted Amy up, kissing her cheek before he rested her on one hip.

Emma greeted Brooke with a smile. "How long have you been in line?" she asked.

"Not long, but it looks like it's going to take a while."

"You said we were almost done!" Amy said, teasing her mom.

Lucas chuckled at Amy. "How're you doing kiddo?"

"Bored as hell!"

"Ames," Brooke said warningly.

"As…heffalumps. We've been here for forever cause _mom_ made us leave early."

"Well you know with the two of you it's a wonder you made it at all…" Lucas said.

Brooke just rolled eyes.

"Haley and Nathan are almost here by the way," he continued, "We spoke to them in the car."

"Great, well Carrie's on her way and hopefully Jake and Peyton will get here before we get to the front of the line, and then we can all check in together."

Jake and Peyton did arrive in time, a little after Nathan, Haley and Carrie, and smiling their way through the annoyed looks of the people behind them in the queue, they slipped in to join the others. Amy was joined by four more grumpy kids, but Jenny entertained the others sufficiently to allow their parents a little peace as they waited.

To say that they were looking forward to this holiday, would be like saying Brad Pitt was quite attractive, or Hitler was kind of a bad guy. They were all always complaining that they never got to spend enough time together, and now they had a whole chunk of the summer together in one house, which just happened to be a fantastic villa in the stunning region of Umbria.

It had taken a lot of careful planning and studying of schedules to find a time when they could all get away, but eventually they'd worked it out so almost all of them would have two and half weeks at the house.

Carrie had to go back a little early, and sadly Emma could only stay a week before the latest case she'd been working on went to court, but Toby would be coming out for the second week, so at least there'd still be _plenty _of people around.

Brooke had considered for a while whether to ask John. When Haley had first had the idea they'd only been going out for a few weeks, but by the time it was late May she'd decided it would be weird if she didn't; their relationship was going well, and it might be fun to have him there. He couldn't get away from work though; he was doing his fellowship. Brooke was almost relieved in a way, not because she didn't want him there but…she'd be with such old friends that it might just be easier not to have him around.

Brooke was glad Carrie was going to be there though, especially while Emma was. It would stop her feeling like a seventh wheel around all the couples. That was what was so great about her best friends though, Brooke thought, as Nathan pulled her into a one armed hug as they stood waiting, they were all so close that they weren't segregated into couples. When Lucas and Brooke's relationship had fallen apart, they'd just picked them both up and kept going. And Brooke was pretty sure that if it hadn't been for them, she could never have stayed on her feet.

They eventually checked in, and after another hour going through security, where Nathan was frisked because he forgot he was wearing a belt, and when they had dragged the kids away from the airport stores, they finally boarded the plane.

"Are we near each other?" Haley asked, as she looked at the seat number on her ticket.

"Yeah we are," Lucas, who had orchestrated the mass check-in, said. "In the same two rows."

Brooke caught Lucas' eyes travelling over the compact seats, and guessed what he was thinking. "Used to first class?" she murmured to him, as they made their way down the aisle of the plane.

Lucas hesitated and gave a guilty smile. "Business class."

Brooke smiled back. "Yeah, it's been a while since I flew coach."

"Like you ever did!"

Although it was never that obvious, Brooke and Lucas had the most money out of all their friends. While Haley's career as a singer had blossomed, and she was popular, she was by no means a superstar, and with Nathan hardly working they were comfortable rather than very wealthy.

Lucas' salary was incredibly good though, and as he paid for all of Amy's schooling, Brooke had few dents in her considerable earnings. This meant that as well as each being able to afford a two bedroom apartment on the upper east side, they were used to quite a high standard of living.

As this was a trip the whole group was going on though, they'd decided it would be nice to all travel together, and Lucas knew better than to offer to get Jake's families' tickets.

Brooke didn't mind at all, she'd always loved flying and although legroom was crappy in coach, it was more important that they could all be together: Amy might have sent her insane in the airport if Jenny hadn't been there to keep her occupied!

"Here we are," Nathan said, as they arrived at their seats. "Jack, do you want to go by the window?"

The little boy nodded and went to his seat, and Haley sat next to him, with Leyla in her lap. Nathan went into the seat next to her as Jake began ushering his kids into the row of four seats in the middle of the large jet. He and Peyton followed them.

"Are we in this row?" Brooke asked, indicating the one just in front of where the others were sitting.

"Yes," Lucas said, "We have uh…these three, and these two," he indicated two sets of seats just across the aisle from each other.

"Okay, well we'll take these. Aisle or window Carrie?"

"I'll take the window," Carrie said, sticking her bag in the overhead locker and sliding sideways into her seat. Amy went and sat next to her, and Brooke took the seat by the aisle. She fastened her seat belt and then turned, immediately catching Lucas' eye in the seat across from her.

He reached out, his arm spanning the width of the aisle. "Well they certainly squash the seats in."

She pushed his shoulder. "Oh get over it!"

He chuckled. "I'm kidding. It'll be great: nine hours – I can just sleep right through it."

* * *

Lucas sighed as he leaned back in his seat, tapping his fingers lightly on his tray table. He glanced to his left at Emma, but she was still asleep, her blanket tucked round her. He looked to his other side, where Brooke was sitting with her headphones on, apparently watching a film. 

He screwed up his empty bag of nuts, and tossed it at her, hitting her arm. She turned and raised her eyebrows at him.

He motioned for her to take of her headphones.

"What's up?" she asked with a slight frown.

"I'm bored."

She rolled her eyes but smiled slightly. "What do you want me to do about it?"

He shrugged. "Entertain me."

"Luke there are like 10 movies playing, surely there must be something you want to watch."

He wrinkled his nose. "I don't think so. What are you watching?"

Brooke hesitated for a second, a bemused expression on her face. Lucas' tone was the playful one she hadn't heard in a while…since before she started dating John.

"Um, 'Pride and Prejudice'" she said.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "See."

"You'd probably like it! It's along the same lines as 'The Notebook'," she teased him, and Lucas shot her a glare. He had only ever admitted to her that he actually sort of liked that movie.

"Shouldn't you have read it?" Brooke asked.

"I have," Lucas said pointedly, "It's good but…not really my thing."

"Well I think there's one of the Mission Impossibles or something," she said, "If that's more to your macho taste!"

Lucas muttered something and Brooke giggled. She replaced her headphones. "My movies almost over," she said, "I'll entertain you then."

The meals had come when Brooke took her headphones off again. Most people were asleep however as it was a night flight.

"Is it over?" Lucas asked.

"Yup. They didn't kiss though! Rip off."

Lucas chuckled. "Angsty ending?"

"No, they got together, but just kind of stood there looking at each other."

"Well I guess that's still a happy ending."

"I think you've got to have a kiss to seal the deal." She caught his eye, and then hey both looked away.

"So what are we eating?" Brooke asked.

"Who knows."

"Can I have your roll?"

"Why?"

"Cause how wrong they go with bread?"

Lucas peered at the brown roll, studded with seeds. "Looks pretty good."

"So can I have it?"

"No! I want it."

Brooke rolled her eyes, and reached over and took his drink.

"Hey!"

"I'm thirsty," she said with a shrug.

"Well call the hostess for another drink."

"Too much hassle, and it'd piss her off."

"I never thought I'd see the day when Brooke Davis was turning down an opportunity to order paid servers around."

"Hey! I only ever did that with my nanny, when I was like eight."

"And shop assistants."

"That's what they're there for!"

"Well what are air hostesses there for then?"

"I dunno…save us if the plane crashes."

Lucas rolled his eyes derisively.

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Well if we had to land on water or something, wouldn't you rather have them on your good side?"

He chuckled. "Good point."

"So have you still not found a movie you want to watch?" Brooke asked, as she deemed that there was nothing else edible on her little tray.

"I don't know, I was thinking of watching Spy kids…"

"Luke!"

"What! I really like movies where kids are secret agents."

"Yeah, like Agent Cody Banks, I can't believe you made me watch that."

"It was cool!"

"You wanted to be a secret agent when you were eight didn't you?" Brooke asked with a smile.

Lucas gave an exaggerated shrug. "I don't know, I wouldn't have _minded_ being James Bond…"

Brooke laughed. "Nu uh. You couldn't pull it off."

"I so could!"

"You're not British."

"So? I can be suave."

Brooke burst out laughing again. The guy sitting in front threw her an irritated look over his shoulder, before leaning back against his pillow. Brooke bit her lip, still smiling but looking guilty.

"Now look what you did."

"Oh Luke that was totally you're fault. You shouldn't make jokes like that."

"I could be James Bond!"

Brooke just grinned, shaking her head.

"Well I'm still gonna watch Spy kids."

"We should probably be going to sleep," Brooke said.

Lucas frowned slightly and looked around the plane at everyone else with their seats tipped back. "I don't feel sleepy."

"We're going to be really tired tomorrow."

"We can sleep later."

Brooke looked at him for a second and smiled. "Okay."

* * *

Brooke sighed happily as she lay on the dark blue patterned covers of her double bed in her bedroom of the _Villa di Amelia_. 

It was three in the afternoon. Italy time. Which meant it was nine in the morning as far as she was concerned, and she hadn't slept since the night before last. Or something like that.

As Haley had graciously reminded her, the point of taking a night flight is that you sleep through it and beat jetlag. But Brooke had always been bad at sleeping on planes, and she and Lucas had not shut their eyes once, eventually watching 'X-Men 2' as well as 'Sky kids 3', for want of something better to do.

It was a weird experience sitting watching a movie on a tiny screen in front of you with headphones, while someone else watched the same thing next to you. Especially as Lucas was always laughing at the crappy jokes, and Brooke had to remind herself that they were actually watching the same thing.

Then when the flight had landed there had been the tiresome ordeal of baggage reclaim, where they had all spent the whole time trying to stop Jack and Amy from climbing onto the conveyor belts, and then the car hire desks where inevitably the two Chrysler Voyagersthey'd booked were not there, and they almost had to squash all thirteen of them in to two Ford Puntos. Luckily their cars were eventually located, and especially luckily for Brooke and Lucas Nathan and Jake offered to drive, so they didn't have to risk falling asleep at the wheel.

Now they were finally at the house, which, as Haley had said, was gorgeous, all cool stone floors and decorated in rustic shades of red and ochre, with dashes of Provencal blue.

They'd sorted out their bedrooms and now Brooke was just lying here on her bed, with Amy next to her, tired out from the long trip. She was just closing her eyes again when the door opened slightly, and Lucas stuck his head round it.

"Hey pretty girls." He smiled at them both as Brooke looked up at him. "Sorry to wake you, but if Ames sleeps all afternoon she won't go to bed tonight."

Brooke pushed herself up on her elbows, narrowing her eyes at him. "So why don't you wake her up?"

Lucas chuckled and came fully into the room, sitting on the end of the bed.

"Well if you sleep afternoon you won't get to sleep tonight either."

Brooke heaved a sigh, knowing he was right. Amy shifted in her sleep, and her eyes opened. She blinked at Lucas.

"Hey baby girl. I just came to let you know Jake's playing soccer outside with Jenny and Jack, if you wanted to go and play."

Amy pushed herself up into the same position as her mother. "Um, okay."

"That's my girl. You can have an early night later."

Amy nodded vaguely and slipped of the bed, heading out of the room still looking a little dozy.

Lucas turned to Brooke.

"Have you got an activity for me too?" she teased.

Lucas shrugged exaggeratedly. "Nate and I might try out the pool. And if you happened to feel like a swim…"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll get up."

Lucas smiled and stood up and Brooke sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. "I hope you know this is all your fault though."

"Hey! I wasn't the one who was watching X-Men at 5 am!"

"Yes you were! And it was 11 in the morning Italian time."

"Yeah, why were they all making fun of us – we were just adjusting to the local time earlier."

Brooke nodded. "Although, we probably shouldn't have been playing pictionary at 6 am then."

Lucas waved this away with a smile. "Whatever." He headed to the door. "See you outside."

* * *

Lucas and Nathan looked up at the fiery late afternoon sun as they stood outside in their board shorts, flip-flops on their feet to protect them from the hot tiles. 

Lucas turned to Nathan and they both grinned. Simultaneously their eyes turned to the enormous swimming pool that lay about twenty feet from the house.

"Race you," Lucas said, and the words were hardly out of his mouth before Nathan was slipping out of his flip-flops and sprinting towards the pool. Lucas chased after him, and they leapt off the side into the clear blue water, breaking its perfect stillness and sending great splashes into the air.

Brooke and Haley shook their heads as they came out of the large doors that led outside, having witnessed the race. Brooke was still feeling sleepy, but it was too beautiful outside to stay indoors.

"Like little boys," Haley said.

Brooke turned to her with a look. "Hales, they _are_ little boys."

There was a sound behind them and they both turned to see a real little boy, Jack, run out past them towards the pool, and leap in just as his father had done.

"No running on the deck!" Haley cried, and then shrugged her shoulders. "Worth a try."

The two followed his path, walking sedately towards the pool. Nathan had just lifted Jack onto his shoulders as they came to a stop at the edge. He wolf whistled, and Lucas turned, smiling as he saw them.

They were both standing in bikinis, their feet somehow impervious to the scorching ground. Brooke's was dark emerald green and a brown pendant hung round her neck. Lucas also recognised a blue and black friendship bracelet on her ankle she'd had for years.

Haley was in a pale pink bikini, and rolled her eyes at Nathan's grin.

"Are you coming in?" he asked, and Haley shrugged. "Sure. Is it cold?" She stuck her foot in. "Yes," she answered herself.

"It's fine," Lucas assured them.

Brooke wandered round the edge of the pool, looking in.

"I promise, it's fine once you're in," Lucas said to her, but she just smiled in reply.

"Chicken."

She raised her eyebrows at him, but continued to walk round, stopping at the other end, where the water was deepest. Lucas was about to swim over there and tease her further for her hesitancy, when she stepped to the edge and did a perfect dive into the water.

She swam a few stroked underwater and came up near the others, her hair streaming smoothly down her back. She smiled at Lucas, as if to say 'were you going to say something?' He just shook his head at her, muttering "show off".

They all got out of the pool after a little while, wanting to enjoy the many sun-loungers. Lucas grabbed a pile of nearby towels, although it was so hot they didn't really need them.

He tossed one to Haley, and Brooke stretched out a hand too.

"You're getting too skinny Brooke," he said as he handed her the towel, brushing his thumb over her slightly protruding hipbones. "You gotta eat more."

"Well I'm sure that'll be no problem here."

"Mm," he agreed, grinning, "I'm looking forward to some really good thin crust pizza."

"Oh yeah. I was thinking of the ice cream though, it's so good in Italy."

"Well whatever, as long as you eat," He placed a hand on her stomach as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "It's practically concave!"

She relaxed her arms, her stomach going flat again, and rolled her eyes at him. "Like you can talk, skinny ass," she said, as she settled herself on a lounger.

"Hey! I eat like a pig."

"I'm not gonna argue with that," she said with a smirk, and he threw his towel at her.

She giggled and brushed it off, lying back and closing her eyes. She groaned. "I need sunglasses." She turned her head to one side and squinted at him. "Please?"

He was about to refuse, and then stopped. "Actually I want mine to. Okay, where are they?"

"They should be on my bedside table, thanks Luke."

"Sure."

She watched as he headed back into the house. Whatever she'd said about his skinny ass, he had definitely bulked up. A career as a pro-athlete meant his shoulders in particular were much wider than when they'd first been together, and she could see the muscles in his back.

She leant her head back and sighed, closing her eyes.

_Their wet bodies rubbed against each other as Lucas held Brooke's hips, his thumbs over the edge of her bikini as they backed inside._

"_I'm so glad you could come out here," Brooke giggled, as Lucas lifted her and she wrapped her legs round his waist._

"_Yeah? Me too." He chuckled and leant in to kiss her neck. She giggled again and lifted a finger to her lips, her other hand on the back of his neck._

"_My parents are probably back."_

_Lucas glanced around him, looking up at the ceiling. Brooke's parents house in California was very much like her one in Tree Hill. He had never been there before; Brooke herself had seldom visited them there. It was the summer before their last year at NYU and her parents had asked her to come out, probably correctly realising that once Brooke left college she would most likely turn her back on her parents for ever._

_Brooke had insisted Lucas come too, she had been living with him for the past semester, and there was no way she was spending any of the summer without him._

_That evening her parents had gone out, and they had taken advantage of the one thing Brooke missed about her old life with them: her own pool and hot tub._

_They were also both a little tipsy from the pitcher of Margaritas Brooke had made._

"_They won't hear us," Lucas said. "We'll be quiet."_

"_Yeah, sure," Brooke giggled. "Just make sure we get to the bedroom before you take my bikini off, okay?"_

_He met her eyes, and she could see his were burning with the passion she so easily recognised. "I'm not making any promises…" he murmured, before his lips met hers._

_She opened his mouth with her lips and ran her tongue over his, pulling his head closer to her. He pushed her against the wall, his hands on her ass, and broke the kiss to trail his lips down her neck._

"_Come on, we gotta go upstairs."_

"_Or we could go back outside," Lucas whispered, his lips barely leaving her skin._

_She paused and then grinned, running her fingers through his hair and lifting his face. "Okay."_

_He raised his eyebrows and she nodded. He grinned, and let go of her with one hand, supporting her on his opposite hip as he carried her to the backdoor, opening it and slipping out. _

_The stars cast a low light on the pool they had just left, and Lucas closed the door behind him. Brooke was kissing his ear, and he pressed her back against the wall, his bare chest touching her stomach. She ran her fingers through his hair again, keeping them entangled at the back of his neck as she kissed him firmly. _

"_Mm, I love you I love you," she whispered, intoxicated on passion more than liquor now._

_Lucas grinned as he pressed his lips against her neck, pulling back to look into her eyes. He just smiled as he leant forward, slowly, his lips just grazing hers before moving in again, their noses brushing over each other. "You're my world Brooke," he murmured. "You mean everything to me."_

_Her kiss became more urgent, and he could feel her smiling against his lips._

_His moved one hand up and undid the bow at the top of her bikini as he continued to kiss her. She held the back of his head as he broke the kiss and lifted her a little higher, his lips moving over her chest as he let the front of her top fall. She undid the back with one hand, pulling it off and throwing it on the ground. _

_She leant her head back as his lips continued to move, her breathing becoming a little heavier._

_When she began to tug on the top of his shorts he moved her away from the wall, turning and laying her down on the thick grass of the lawn. She kept a hold of his neck, pulling him down on top of her. _

"_Your parents' bedroom isn't up there right?" he asked, in between kisses._

_She shook her head smiling. "It's at the front. So you can take these off." _

"Here you go."

Brooke opened her eyes to see Luca standing above her, holding out her sunglasses.

"Oh, um, thanks." She took them from him, a little flustered by how far she'd let her mind wander.

He frowned slightly. "Do you want some sun stuff? You're looking a little red."

"Um, yeah I think Hales has some." She touched her cheek, which did feel a little hot, though probably not just from the Sun.

* * *

"Wow this looks delicious Hales." 

Haley smiled as she set the enormous dish of pasta down in the middle of the table. "It's really not very special, but I hope everybody likes sundried tomatoes."

Jack made a face and Haley gave him a pointed look. "Just try them."

She took her seat and Lucas began ladling pasta onto plates and passing them round.

It was their first proper meal altogether. Dinner the previous evening had been a scattered affair as they had all gone to bed at different times, tired out by the long day of travelling. At lunch the kids had eaten earlier than the others, and most of the adults had decided just to have bread and ham and cheese out by the pool. This evening they were eating out around the large iron table on the terrace, a beautiful green tablecloth that Peyton had found covering it.

"Ames look at the stars," Brooke said, as she passed round the plates, "There are way more than in New York."

Amy tipped her head back, as did Jack. "Oh wow!"

"How come there are more here?" Jack asked.

"Cause of all the light pollution in Manhattan," Brooke said with a ironic smile. "All the lights of the city are so bright it's hard to see all the stars," she explained.

"Oh. That's sad," Amy said.

"So does everyone think we'll be able to stay up long enough tonight to play a game or something?" Jake asked, as they all began to eat.

"Ooh I wanna play charades," Haley said, "But I'm actually pretty tired already."

"See!" Brooke said. "You can't beat jetlag."

"Well I didn't have a nap this afternoon, unlike _some_ people."

"It's called a siesta," Brooke said pointedly. "I'm being European!"

"Sure. I still can't believe you guys didn't sleep for the whole flight."

"What did you do?" Jake asked.

Lucas shrugged. "Watched movies, talked, played pictionary."

"Oh we should play that!" Peyton said excitedly.

Lucas shook his head. "Brooke sucks at it."

"I do not! You suck at guessing."

"Can you even play with two people?" Carrie asked.

"Well it kind of removes the competitive element," Brooke said, "Cause you just draw what you like. But it's more _fun_, if you chose hard stuff," she said pointedly.

"How is 'The Graduate' hard?" Lucas said incredulously.

"Exactly! You'd think you could guess it."

"Well I would've if you could draw."

Brooke pulled a shock faced at him and the others laughed. Lucas just chuckled and she threw a pea at him.

"Hey, don't give the kids any ideas!" Haley said warningly.

Jack grinned and picked up one of his peas, but Haley promptly took it out of his hand.

"Sorry," Brooke said sheepishly. "Jack don't do it buddy, it's not big or clever."

Lucas grinned as Brooke had to apologise, and she shot him a glare.

"How about we just watch a movie or something?" Nathan suggested later as they began clearing the plates. "We can play charades or something tomorrow night."

"Yeah sure, there's a whole stash in the living room," Jake said.

Haley lifted Leyla into her arms, rubbing her back. "Kids, why don't you go chose one?" she suggested, giving Jack a gentle push towards the house.

Jenny, Amy and Jack ran in and headed for the living room.

"One we'll all like!" Nathan yelled after them.

* * *

Lucas looked down at Amy in his arms. By the light from the TV he could see that her eyes were closed. "I think it's time you went to bed baby girl." 

Amy shook her head roughly. "I'm not sleepy."

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah you are, you're falling asleep already."

"I was just blinking."

He smiled at this excuse. "Come on, it's way past your bedtime." He stood up, lifting Amy to her feet.

She groaned, and buried her face against his leg.

"You should go to bed Ames," Brooke said, "Then in the morning you can go swimming."

"Give your mom a kiss," Lucas said, gently pushing Amy towards Brooke.

Amy sighed and relented, going over to Brooke who pulled her up into her lap and kissed the top of her head, hugging her tightly. "Night sweetheart."

"Goodnight mom."

Lucas came and took Amy's hand, and Brooke flashed him a grateful smile before he led her upstairs.

"You should go to bed soon too Jen," Peyton said.

"Can't I just see the end of the movie?"

"Are you gonna go to bed straight after?" Peyton asked.

Jenny nodded quickly and Peyton smiled. "Okay."

Lucas came back into the room a little later and headed back towards his chair. He paused by Brooke as he passed her, laying a hand on her shoulder for a second. "She's asleep," he whispered.

Brooke caught his fingers and gave them a light squeeze as she turned to look at him. "Thanks Luke."

* * *

"What are you reading?" Lucas asked, dropping down to a crouch to look over the back of the sofa at Brooke. 

She held up the cover of the book at him, then returned to reading.

"How come your inside? Tanned enough already?"

"Too hot."

"Very Monosyllabic today," he commented.

"Book's good."

He chuckled and stood up. "O-kay..."

Lucas opened his eyes as a shadow fell briefly over his lounger. Brooke was moving the head of the neighbouring lounger, and then lay down on it.

* * *

"Hey Luke, what's up?" 

"Somebody got more talkative."

"I just finished an awesome chapter of my book!"

He smiled and nodded slowly, his eyes closed again against the glare of the sun.

"It was so good, you know those books where you just can't stop thinking about it. So it's all going round and round in your head. I mean, why did the priest have to leave without - "

Lucas stopped her. "You know I haven't read it Brooke, so I'm not gonna have any answers," he said with a smile.

She pouted at him. "Well you should read it; I need someone to talk to about it."

"Why don't you get one of the others to. Hales has probably read it already."

"She hasn't, so you're my best bet, literature major!"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll start it later."

Brooke clapped her hands. "Awesome! But not till I'm done," she added quickly. "You're gonna love it Lucas I swear."

Lucas just smiled and shook his head.

* * *

Carrie and Emma sipped on their tall glasses of lemonade as they sat outside on the deck overlooking the pool. A woven awning stuck out a little way from the house, protecting them from the strong Sun, but the air was still warm enough that they were both in tank tops and skirts. 

The doors from the house opened and Peyton came out, her sandals flapping against the tiles. She slipped her sunglasses down and took a seat next to the others.

"God I love this weather."

Emma smiled. "Mm, me too."

Carrie glanced at the other two. "The only thing that would make it better is if we all had skin like Haley."

The three of them, two blondes and one redhead, all had pale creamy skin, that burnt easily in the Sun. Of course this didn't prevent them from lying outside or swimming in the pool for hours, but it meant they weren't quite so care free as Haley, who was playing in the pool with the kids at that minute. Her skin had turned a golden brown in the past few days, and even though she had tried to persuade the others that tanning was still damaging your skin, and she really should be as careful as them, they were still a little jealous.

Even more so of Brooke, who, even though she had porcelain skin most of the time, it was tanning light brown in the Sun rather than the painful red Carrie's of Carrie's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," Peyton said. "She's so lucky. She even gets almost blonde hair in the Summer."

"Which as we both know is a huge asset," Emma said with a grin.

"Pft. Whatever."

They both laughed at Carrie.

"You get freckles though," Peyton conceded to her.

"And they suck!"

"No I love them, they're cute."

Carrie just shook her head, scrunching her nose, which had a light spattering of freckles on either side. "At least it's not as bad as my cousin, she gets them all over her face; she just turns into one big freckle."

Brooke came out at that minute. "Hey guys," she smiled at them, then frowned. "Why are you sitting under there?"

They just glared at her.

* * *

"Has anybody seen my - " Brooke question trailed off as she came into the large living room and caught sight of Lucas sitting on the couch. "Lucas!" 

He looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"You have my book!"

"You told me to read it."

"I specifically said don't start till I'm done!"

"Well it was just lying around and you said I would like it so…"

"Luke! No, you have no idea how addictive that thing is!"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Don't be silly."

"Well give it back, I wanna read it."

Lucas held the book to him. "No. I'm reading."

"See!"

He tried for a response but just stuttered. "Just let me finish the chapter," he begged.

"No, you'll just want to read more."

Lucas knelt up on the back of the couch, facing her. "Please Brooke!" he clasped his hands together, putting on his best puppy dog eyes.

Brooke hesitated, and then relented, rolling her eyes. "Fine. But just one more chapter."

He grinned. "You're the best."

"Yeah yeah, just hurry up."

* * *

"Luke!" 

Lucas flinched as Brooke once more burst into the room. "You must have read at least three more chapters by now. It's so my turn!"

"I'm almost done!" he said quickly, although he was quickly in the middle of a chapter.

"Give it to me!"

He shook his head and she reached over the back of the chair, grabbing at the book. He whisked it away from her just in time, jumping up and running out of the room. She chased after him, and he ran outside, sprinting round the pool.

She caught up with him as he tried to weave in and out of the loungers and reached for the book, but he held it away and so she jumped on his back, slowing him down while she swiped for it.

He was laughing, holding her up on his back with one hand, the other holding the book away from her. She lunged for it and managed to grab it, but before she could get away he had grabbed her, tickling her stomach till she was forced into submission.

"Luke, stop!"

"Give me the book!"

Her sides were aching with laughter and then suddenly she was hit by a moment of inspiration. "Stop or the book gets it!" She yelled, flinging out one arm and dangling the book over the edge of the pool.

Lucas stopped dead. "You wouldn't."

Brooke raised an eyebrow dangerously. "You know I would."

"Brooke it's our only copy…"

"You wanna take the risk?"

He stood still.

"Go back inside," she ordered.

"Brooke…" he pleaded. "Just one more chapter?"

"Back inside! It's my turn."

"Can I have it later?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Maybe."

He pouted and she shot him another look, shaking her hand that held the book as a reminder. He turned tail and tramped back inside, and Brooke grinned before positioning herself on a lounger and lying back to enjoy her book.

As Lucas entered the house he passed Carrie, who was standing by the doors, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She appeared to have just come outside, and Lucas smiled at her as he went in. She nodded to him, and then looked back at Brooke with a bemused expression.

Carrie had not in fact just come outside, she had fixing her sarong in the threshold of the door when Brooke's squeals had caught her attention, and she'd witnessed the whole scene.

Now she watched Brooke lie engrossed in her book, wondering what it was all about. She heard a sound behind her and turned to see Haley coming out, also in a bikini.

"You going for a swim?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah."

Haley raised her eyebrows. "What's up?"

Carrie hesitated, and then said, "Nothing, I just…when I came out, Brooke and Lucas were out there kind of…"

Haley raised her eyebrows higher. "Kind of what?"

"Not like, doing anything," Carrie said quickly, realising what Haley thought she meant, "Just…I don't know – being kind of flirty."

Haley narrowed her eyes. "Like how flirty? Their usual, a bit touchy-feely kind of thing, or…?"

"Well I think she was trying to get her book, you know that one they've been arguing over? And then he was tickling her…it was probably totally innocent - "

"Well it's hard to tell with them sometimes," Haley said. "Although I would've thought, this week, with Emma here…"

Carrie nodded. "Yeah, I know. But they probably don't even realise what they're doing. I mean, that's just how they are with each other. It sort of makes you wonder though, if maybe they still have feelings for each other - "

"Well yeah of course," Haley said, and Carrie looked at her sharply. Haley backtracked. "I mean, I just think…they'll never be _totally_ over each other…"

Carrie looked away and nodded slowly, but cast another glance at Haley.

There was suddenly the sound of Brooke's voice from down by the pool. "Are you guys coming down here or what?" she called, having apparently caught sight of them.

There was a moment's pause. "Yeah," Carrie called back, and the two of them walked towards the pool.

"Is the book still good?" Haley asked, as she approached Brooke.

"Yeah. I'm having to constantly beg, borrow, and steal it off Lucas though!"

Haley chuckled, and Carrie glanced over her shoulder from where she stood by the pool steps.

Haley mulled over Carrie's words as she slipped into the cool water of the pool, and began to swim. She shouldn't have said anything when Carrie had mentioned the possibility of Brooke and Lucas still having feelings for each other, but she hadn't been able to stop herself. It had always been Haley's opinion, and it grew stronger every day, that Brooke and Lucas Scott would _never_ be over.

* * *

Lucas walked quietly through the house. It was late evening, and most people had gone to bed. Nathan and Haley, their kids fast asleep in their room, were sitting out on the balcony where Lucas had just come from, enjoying a glass of wine in the cool evening air. 

He entered the living room and smiled as he saw two shadowy figures in the low light: Brooke and Amy were curled up in the large squashy armchair by the fire, Brooke's arms wrapped round Amy's small frame.

He quietly padded over to them, and leant on the arm of the chair, watching them both and listening to the soft sound of their breathing.

He reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind Brooke's ear, his fingers lingering to stroke the soft tendrils.

Brooke shifted slightly and he froze, withdrawing his hand slightly as her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," she said, giving him a soft smile. "Just careful, if Ames wakes up now she'll never get back to sleep. So don't start playing with her hair."

Lucas bit his lip guiltily, and Brooke smiled slightly and looked down at her daughter.

"Want me to take her up?" Lucas asked, and Brooke looked back up at him and nodded. "Thanks, yeah."

Lucas bent down and gently gathered Amy up into his arms, rubbing her back lightly as she stirred a little. Her head flopped against his shoulder and he waited for Brooke to stand up before the three of them headed upstairs.

Brooke followed Lucas to Amy's bedroom and leant against the doorframe as he laid her down in the bed, tucking the covers round her and placing a kiss on her forehead. He sat on the edge of the bed, stroking Amy's hair, and turned a little to meet Brooke's eyes.

She smiled at him softly, and he smiled back before he stood and went to the door. Brooke looked back into the room with her hand on the door handle, and whispered, "Night baby girl," before she closed it behind them.

Outside Brooke's room Lucas lifted a hand to her cheek, cupping it as he tipped her towards him, pressing his lips for a moment against her hair. Her hands found his sides briefly, and then he stepped back. "Night Brooke."

"Goodnight," she whispered, and turned into her room.

_Okay so this was like twice the length of some chapters, so I think it deserves lots of reviews! I hope you guys agree : )_

_More of this soon: what'll happen when Emma's gone off on a plane home?_


	13. It's got to Happen Right

_Hey my peeps! I'm so sorry this has been a long time coming, I'm just starting like a month of exams, so I've had/got quite a lot of work to do. This chapter is dedicated to those people who were nagging me with reviews earlier this week, and made me get of my butt and finish this chapter for you guys, so hope you enjoy it! I made it nice and long, cause I figured you deserved it after the wait…_

"Babe you forgot your toothbrush," Lucas entered the room he had been sharing with Emma, holding her green toothbrush.

She rolled her eyes as she took it from him. "Thanks, of course I forget the most obvious thing."

He chuckled as she slipped the toothbrush in a pocket of her bag, and zipped it up.

"All set?"

"Yup." She glanced around the room for a last check, and then nodded again, and he picked up her suitcase and carried it out.

"I can't believe I have to go back to New York, it's so nice here."

Lucas smiled sympathetically as they made their way out to the car. "It'll probably be good weather back in the States."

"Yeah, like a hundred degrees and stuffy."

"Well maybe you could persuade your boss to hold meetings outside," he suggested with a smile.

"As if. I think he really is a vampire or something…"

Lucas chuckled and then they both turned as they heard Peyton and Carrie coming down from the house to the driveway where the cars were parked.

"We came down to see you off," Carrie said. Most of them had just said goodbye at breakfast, including Brooke who had felt a little awkward as she had spent very little time with Emma. It somehow seemed to be that whenever Emma had been hanging out with the girls, and therefore not with Lucas, Brooke had been talking to him, and therefore was not with her…

"It sucks you have to go," Peyton added.

Emma shrugged. "I know, careers are so inconvenient aren't they?"

They chuckled. "Yeah, we should go back to getting the boys to work for us," Peyton said.

"Hey, I do work!" Lucas complained.

"Pff. You play sport."

"Well I get paid to do it!"

"Then you should support your woman."

Emma laughed.

"I already support two others," Lucas joked with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah sure, as if Brooke is paying rent on an east-side apartment with your alimony!"

"Whatever."

Carrie shook her head. "Well," she said, turning back to Emma, "It was really nice to have you here."

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun."

They said their goodbyes again and then Lucas and Carrie got into the car – he was dropping her off at the airport - and Peyton and Carrie waved as it pulled away.

They turned when it had disappeared and went back to the house. Jake looked up as they came back into the kitchen. "They get off okay?"

"Yup."

"Should we have come down?" Nathan asked, as he hitched Leyla up on his hip while he continued stacking plates away.

"No I think it was fine, we'd all just said goodbye," Carrie said. Nathan nodded slowly. "Yeah, I was thinking we maybe should have, but…"

"It would have been a little awkward," Jake interrupted. "I mean, she's great and everything but I still don't really know her that well."

"Yeah me too," Nathan agreed. "I don't know, I think if we'd all come down it might have seemed a little forced."

"It was fine," Peyton reassured them. "And it was fine having her here too. She's nice."

"Yeah, obviously," Haley agreed. "She's great. She's just not…"

They all fell silent as there were footsteps in the hall and Brooke entered. She looked round at them all. "Hey guys."

They all smiled. "Hey."

She raised her eyebrows. "What's up?"

"Nothin'. Just…washing up," Jake offered.

"O-kay…" Brooke went over to the CD player and started choosing a CD. "Did Emma set off okay?" she asked, breaking the silence that had once again fallen.

"Um, yeah."

"Yeah, fine."

"They just left."

She rolled her eyes to herself as they all fell over themselves to appear casual about it. Taking one of the CDs, she gave them a small smile before leaving the room again.

The others all eyed each other.

"I'm kind of glad for Brooke's sake we have some time without Emma," Peyton said.

"She's with John, it shouldn't matter," Haley said pointedly.

Nathan and Jake raised their eyebrows. "What?"

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'it shouldn't matter'?"

"Well just…it doesn't matter if Lucas' girlfriend is gone. She's with John."

Jake nodded slowly. "Yeah, obviously. Why…is this even a possibility?"

"Is what a possibility?"

"Whatever you were just implying."

"I wasn't implying anything!"

The guys narrowed their eyes. "Why do I feel like you know something we don't?" Nathan asked. "Has Brooke said something?"

"What? No! Something like what?"

"Well…for that to be a possibility…"

"For what to be! I don't even know what we're talking about!" Haley said, holding up her hands.

Nathan looked at Carrie and Peyton, who just looked away. Eventually Nathan just shrugged and turned back to the sink. The girls went to clear the rest of the stuff from the table.

"Something's going on," Jake muttered.

- - -

Haley placed her sunglasses over her eyes as she leant back on her lounger, the hot Sun beating down on her.

The guys were still in the kitchen clearing up, but Haley wanted a moment to think.

She and Peyton used to talk about the possibility of Brooke and Lucas getting back together. Originally, they had both thought it was highly likely. Although Haley had been wary of the idea at the start; having been so involved at the time of the break-up she had seen the effect it had had on them both, and would never want them to go through that again.

Peyton too realised there were deep wounds, but as time had passed and their relationship had become civil she became sure that it was only a matter of time before something happened and they got back together again.

For Haley however, although she knew there would always be something there, this chance seemed to have become less likely over the years, especially since Lucas had met Emma. It was just recently…recently it seemed like anything was possible.

There was a momentary shadow and she opened her eyes to see Carrie lying back on a lounger.

They were silent for a second.

"What do you think about it?"

Carrie turned to look at Haley. She hesitated for a second before assuming Haley had been thinking about what she too had been. "About Brooke and Lucas?"

Haley nodded.

"I think…I think they're perfect for each other. I mean, I've wanted them together since I first met Lucas. Since I first met Brooke even and there was this picture of him on her night stand, and just seeing her tell me who he was it was obvious there was so…_much_ _there_." She paused for a second. "I think she still loves him. But…"

Haley raised her eyebrows.

"I don't know if it will work out."

"You mean…" Haley began.

"I mean, maybe love isn't enough sometimes, you know? Brooke seems genuinely happy with her life right now, and Lucas too. Maybe they're relationship has run it's course and they have a beautiful daughter from it but that's it…it wasn't mean to be more."

Haley sat quietly, turning this over in her mind. Maybe Carrie was right, that love wasn't always enough. She wondered what then had kept her and Nathan together, when they'd teetered on the edge of losing each other.

"But I hope not." Haley looked up and Carrie smiled; "I hope not," she repeated.

* * *

"Aw Ellie you look so cute!" 

Amy turned her head as she heard Jenny's cry, and saw the older girl lift herself out of the pool and run up to Peyton, who was approaching with Ellie in her arms. The two of them had just been with Haley, Jack and Leyla to the nearby market town. They appeared to have done some shopping, as Ellie was now wearing a little pink polka dotted sunhat.

"Did you have fun?" Jenny asked her little sister, squeezing her little chubby cheek lightly. Ellie nodded her head, and Peyton smiled as she set her down and watched her toddle over to a sun lounger. Jenny followed her, lifting her onto it and sitting opposite, pulling faces at her.

Amy pursed her lips, and then allowed the diving rings they had been playing with to fall to the bottom of the pool before she swam to the steps and got out. She wandered into the house, and paused outside the kitchen door where Haley and her kids appeared to be showing their purchases to Nathan.

"It was the only kind of sunhat he would buy," Haley was saying, and Nathan chuckled as he patted the top of Jack's cowboy hat.

"And look what I found for Leyla, Dad," Jack said, standing on tiptoes to reach the bags on the counter, and pulling out a headband with feathers sticking out of it. "So she can be the Indian squaw."

Nathan grinned and took it, placing it carefully on Leyla's head. "That's so cool."

Haley frowned. "I'm not sure how happy I am with her being a pawn in your little games Jack!"

"I'm not gonna shoot her or anything! She just has to sit and be captured."

Amy pushed herself off of the doorway, and continued towards the living room. She didn't really want to play Cowboys and Indians anyway…although the headdress was kind of cool.

She found Carrie sitting in the living room, reading a book. She looked up as Amy came over and flopped down next to her. "Hey kiddo, what's up?"

Amy shrugged. "Nothin'."

Carrie frowned slightly and reached out and ruffled her hair. "That didn't sound like a happy nothin'. You want something to do?"

Any shrugged again. "No I'm fine."

Carrie hesitated for a minute, then said, "Well if you want to do anything, just let me know." She turned back to her book, one head absently stroking Amy's hair.

Amy leaned towards her slightly, and was quiet for a bit.

"Do you think if Mom had another baby, I wouldn't see Dad anymore?"

Carrie closed her book, and turned to look at Amy. "Where did that come from kiddo? A couple of months ago it was your Dad you were worrying about."

Amy looked away. "Well I figured, if he and Emma had a baby, I'd still live with Mom, and then I'd see them at the weekends. But if Mom had one, would it be like Jenny and…Nicki?"

Carrie's mouth formed an 'O' as she realised what Amy was thinking off. "No sweetie, it wouldn't."

"But that's what happened. Nicki was Jenny's mom, even though she lived with Jake. But then Jake married Peyton, and Peyton had another baby, and then Peyton was Jenny's mom. And she hardly ever sees Nicki. So maybe that would happen with Dad?"

Carrie shook her head. "Ames do you remember when you were little, when we'd see Jenny? That was before Ellie was born, and Peyton was still her mom then."

Amy hesitated. "I don't really remember."

"Peyton's been Jenny's mom since she was a little baby. Just like your Dad has been there for you; no one's going to replace him. It's a different situation from Jake's family." Not least because Jake had never been in love with Nicki, Carrie thought. Brooke and Lucas would never fall out of each other's lives; Amy would always have them both around.

Amy nodded slightly.

"Anyway why are you even worrying about it? Your mom's not having a baby any time soon."

Amy looked down at her hands. "I was just wondering what it would be like." She hesitated. "I kind of want a little brother or sister."

Carrie opened her mouth, surprised. She'd never heard Amy say this before; she'd always assumed Amy was perfectly happy with her position as the sole focus of her parents' lives.

"The others all do…I think it would it be kind of cool to be a big sister."

Carrie gave a sad smile. "Well you never know…maybe one day. Anyway you're practically a big sister Ames, your cousins really look up to you."

Amy smiled slightly, but she knew it wasn't quite the same. Leyla didn't reach out for her like she did for Jack.

Carrie wanted to say something else, to think of something else to reassure her, but at that moment Jack ran in.

"Amy we're playing Cowboys outside. Dad said you could be Jesse James."

Amy hesitated then grinned, and hopped off the couch. "Okay." She turned, "See you later Carrie."

Carrie smiled as she watched her go out, but it faded slightly once the door was shut.

She wondered if Amy would ever be a big sister. Somehow, it didn't seem likely.

* * *

Lucas wandered outside, the paving stones hot under his feet. He was looking forward to a swim, and saw that Nathan, Haley and Brooke were already outside by the pool. 

Nathan was pulling his shirt off, and Haley and Brooke were also preparing to get in, both in bikinis. Brooke stretched and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, apparently in no hurry.

"I always hate how cold it is at first," he heard Haley say.

Brooke nodded. "I wish there was some acclimatising temperature thing."

Lucas shook his head and Nathan noticed him, where he stood a little back from where the girls were. Lucas lifted a finger to his lips, an idea coming to him.

Nathan grinned and then looked away from him.

Lucas quietly crept up behind them, and then suddenly grabbed Haley, just as she was enquiring whether the sunscreen was waterproof. Haley screamed and Brooke yelped and dodged away from Lucas, but he chased after her, Haley on one shoulder, and picked her up too, wrapping his arm around her legs and lifting her with ease.

Nathan was laughing as Lucas ran back to the pool, both girls pleading for him not to do exactly what he was about to, and plunged into the water.

Brooke resurfaced wiping her eyes, and hit Lucas hard on the arm. "Jerk! It's freezing!"

"You'll soon 'acclimatise' to it," he teased.

Haley spluttered and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Nathan why didn't you tell us he was there?"

Nathan shrugged, still chuckling. "We're brothers; I've got his back," he said, before jumping into the water too.

Haley rolled her eyes at the pathetic excuse.

"You guys would have had to get in anyway; this way was quick and painless," Lucas said with a grin.

"I don't know about that," Haley muttered darkly.

"Aw come on, I didn't hurt you guys, right?" Lucas asked, with a note of concern behind his light tone.

Haley shot him a glare but then grudgingly shook her head and Lucas looked at Brooke.

"I'm so not talking to you," she said, holding up a finger in warning.

He raised his eyebrows, and approached her slowly in the water. "Are you mad cause you got your hair wet?" he teased.

"No. I'm mad because you threw me in the pool. And I'm not talking to you."

"I did _not_ throw you in. I jumped in _with_ you."

"Same difference."

Lucas chuckled at her pout. "Come on, you can't stay mad at me; you're no good at it."

"Can too."

He was in front of her now and reached out his hand, his fingers lightly brushing her stomach, and then tickling her for a moment. She withdrew sharply, with an intake of breath. "Luke…" she said warningly.

His grin just grew. "You can't stay mad at me…"

"If you tickle me again I will get much more mad."

He took a step forward and his fingers made contact with her skin again, and this time he grabbed her sides to stop her from backing away.

"Okay this is very _not _allowed!"

He laughed as he kept a hold on her and tickled her harder. She squealed and grabbed his hands, wriggling out of his grip and dunking his head under the water. He was still laughing as he came up again, shaking his head and sending water everywhere.

"Okay, now we're even," he said.

She kept her lips shut but shook her head, before turning and diving under the water.

He watched her swim down to the deep end, and then resurface. She saw he was still grinning and just shook her head, with just a hint of a smile on her lips.

They were still in the pool when Carrie came outside a little later, wearing a short dress and flip flops, and twirling the car keys round her finger.

"Hey, I'm going to go and pick up Toby from the airport, does anyone want to come?"

Brooke tipped her head on one side. "Do you want anyone to come?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Carrie rolled her eyes. "I don't mind."

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to be _alone_."

"Brooke…"

Brooke giggled. "I'm kidding. I'll come if you want, but I might take a while to get changed, and I might want a shower…"

Carrie waved a hand. "Fine, I'll go on my own."

Brooke smiled. "He might want some private time…"

"Brooke!"

Brooke just laughed as Carrie shook her head, and raised a hand to the others before she turned and headed towards the driveway.

"See you later," Haley called after her, as she got out of the pool and headed towards a lounger. She spread a towel over it and lay down to dry off in the hot sun.

Brooke heard a splash of water and turned to see Lucas getting out off the pool too, the water running off his back as he lifted himself out with ease.

"Luke!" she swam towards the side.

He turned. "What happened to not talking to me?"

She just rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on the pool edge and rested her chin on them. "Can you get me a towel?"

He rolled his eyes back at her but said, "Sure," and turned to head towards the house.

Brooke pushed herself off the side and back under the water, coming back up and watching his figure retreat indoors.

When he came back out she lifted herself out of the water, and he came up holding a towel, with another hanging over his shoulder. He appeared to have rubbed his hair to dry it, as it was sticking up in crazy directions. She chuckled and reached out, running a hand through it to flatten it.

He reached up and pushed it down too, pouting at her as she laughed.

There was a call from the house and they turned round. "I'm making dinner, anyone want to help?" Peyton asked, standing in the doorway.

"Yeah I will," Brooke called back. "See you later," she left Lucas with a smile, and he watched her head towards the house, wrapping the towel round her.

* * *

The movie they had been watching finished, and Nathan turned it off and began flicking through the channels to find some news. Brooke shook Amy gently, whispering it was time to go to bed. Amy lifted her head and Brooke pushed her towards Lucas. 

"Night Daddy," she mumbled.

"Goodnight baby girl, sleep well." Lucas kissed Amy's cheek before she slid out of his lap and followed Brooke out of the living room. The other kids had gone to bed a little earlier, except Jenny, who was still sitting next to Jake, but her eyes were barely open and her head was leant against his shoulder.

Brooke came back into the room a little later, after Jake had carried Jenny off to bed, and took a seat next to Lucas, drawing her feet up onto the couch. They had turned to TV off, but there was low music playing out of the speakers, and sporadic, sleepy conversation.

The 'couples' were spread across the furniture round the room. Haley was sitting in Nathan's lap in one of the big armchairs, Peyton was curled in one corner of the main couch, waiting for Jake's return, and Toby and Carrie were on the smaller sofa to one side. He had an arm draped loosely round her; Brooke had been grilling Carrie for details about the status of their relationship during their few week together.

Brooke and Lucas were sitting on the other end of the main couch, Lucas in the corner and Brooke next to him, her body leaning against his slightly as tiredness began to take over.

"This has been like the best holiday ever," Haley said, as she shifted slightly in Nathan's lap.

"Mm I agree," Peyton said. "Except for our honeymoon," she added, taking Jake's hand. "No offence you guys."

The other's chuckled. "None taken."

"Do you remember the school ski trip?" Nathan asked. "And that awesome hot tub?"

"God yeah, I was with Felix then!" Brooke said with a groan.

"Yeah, not by the end of it!" Peyton said.

Brooke acknowledged this with a slight raise of her eyebrows, and felt Lucas laugh quietly next to her.

"Ooh I wanna hear about this!" Carrie said, sitting up.

"I must have told you about the ski trip," Brooke said. "It was our junior year of high school."

"You probably have," Carrie said with a wave of her hand, "But you know how my memory sucks."

"Brooke and Lucas got it on, even though she was meant to be with Felix, who was back in Tree Hill," Haley said with a wicked grin.

"We did not!" Brooke burst out. Lucas raised his eyebrows at her. "Well, we did," Brooke corrected, "But I'd already broken up with Felix."

"For like an hour," Nathan chipped in.

"We waited like two days," Lucas said.

Toby chuckled. "Let me guess, he had something to say to you when you got back?"

"Actually didn't you beat _him_ up?" Jake wondered.

"Nah, I just roughed him up a little," Lucas said idly.

Brooke gave a derisive laugh.

"Hey! I was defending you."

She smiled, conceding this point. "I know, it just seems so funny now; he was such a loser."

"I saw him a couple of months ago actually," Haley said. "He's a record producer now, but apparently he's still a total jerk."

"Why am I not surprised…" Peyton muttered.

"I never got how Anna turned out so nice," Lucas said.

"He wasn't _that_ bad," Haley said. "Just…very misguided."

"Yeah, misguided into spraying 'dyke' on my locker."

"Wo!" Carrie said. "He did that?"

Peyton nodded. "Yup. Then he got sent to military school."

"God our time in high school was so drama filled."

"Yeah, thank god life slowed down a little."

"Oh yeah, it must be real slow for the rock star and pro-athlete," Peyton said with a chuckle.

"I'm not a rock star," Haley said rolling her eyes. "And anyway right now I'm taking a break from not being a rock star."

"Are you back in the studio soon?" Carrie asked.

"Yup. September."

"Pre-season training must be starting pretty soon too, huh Lucas?"

"Yeah. Just after we get back."

"And then the season will start and you'll be away the whole time," Brooke grumbled.

He nodded slowly. "You guys should come to some more games this season," he said quietly, nudging Brooke's shoulder and referring to her and Amy.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Hey you know what we should do" Jake began, "in the spirit of high school drama?"

"Let me guess, watch American Pie?" Haley asked.

"Um, good idea, but no, we should watch 'The Breakfast Club'."

"Oh I love that movie!"

"No you guys, we should watch 'Zoolander', like the night after Prom," Nathan said.

"Oh, and then Dodgeball!"

"Uh, do we actually have any of these movies here?" Brooke asked.

They all looked at each other. "Um, no."

"Jenny has 'Legally Blonde'," Peyton said finally.

"Yeah, sure, stick it in. I'm about to fall asleep anyway," Lucas said.

There was a general mumble of agreement, and Peyton went to get the DVD.

They were soon listening to the familiar lyrics of 'Perfect Day', and laughing at the antics of Elle Woods and friends. They talked a little during the first bit, but as the movie progressed the conversation faded off as they got more and more tired.

By the time Elle was solving a court case through knowledge of hair care, Nathan's quiet snores rumbled in the background.

Brooke's eyelids were heavy, and she felt wonderfully relaxed as she let them close, her head resting against Lucas' shoulder. She felt him shift on the couch, apparently bringing his legs up onto it, although she kept her eyes closed.

Her body lay against his as he stretched out, one hand on her back holding her gently. She moved her head so it was more fully on his shoulder, her forehead against his neck, and one hand resting on his chest.

Their breathing fell in synch and his chest rose and fell with hers, as they both drifted into sleep.

* * *

Haley awoke slowly, rubbing her eyes as they adjusted to the light of the room, and looking round her. 

She was surrounded by sleeping figures. Carefully extracting herself from Nathan's arms she left him lying on the tipped back barker lounger, and made her way into the kitchen. It was still early, and the kids weren't up yet. She was surprised she hadn't been woken in at six by Leyla's cries. As she was getting some juice out of the fridge however, she heard a toddler's voice and looked up to see Peyton and Ellie. Come in. She realised Peyton and Jake had been absent from the scene that morning.

"Morning," Peyton greeted her with a smile.

"Hey, you're looking very awake."

"I got up a while ago, I didn't want Ellie to wake anyone by crying."

Haley nodded. "Where's Jake?"

"He's taking a swim."

Peyton set Ellie in her high chair and joined Haley in the kitchen area, taking a piece of toast and putting it in the toaster.

"So did you see Brooke and Lucas this morning?" she asked, glancing at Haley with a smile on her face.

Haley nodded, biting her lip. "Yeah."

"Didn't they look adorable? God I wish they'd just get back together already."

Haley frowned slightly. "I think they need to be careful. I mean…_neither _of them is single."

"Yeah but as soon as they realise how they feel they can deal with that."

"I guess…I just really don't want anyone to get hurt. Least of all Amy."

Peyton had opened her mouth to interrupt, but now closed it. "I think it would be okay," she said finally. "I mean, they're crazy about each other, we know that. So when…or, if they get back together. They'd make it work. Amy's not going to get hurt."

"Well what about this morning? She could easily have woken up, she still could, and see them in there. And what's she going to think?"

"She's think…that her parents were friends and we were all hanging out and they happened to fall asleep on the same couch."

"Peyt, she's seven. Pretty soon she's going to start expecting them to get back together. And you can't explain to a seven year old that her parents aren't together because, even thought they're in love, there's a lot of complicated history there and it might take a while for them to work out their feelings!"

Peyton nodded, raising a finger to her lips. "Okay, okay. I know. I just…I just wish they'd work it out sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I shouldn't have raised my voice. We just can't push them, okay? If it's going to happen, it has to happen right."

"Okay."

Peyton started spreading jam on her toast, and Haley leant back against the counter. She thought of her two friends, lying asleep down the hall. The way Lucas' fingers were curled round Brooke's side, and her head fit against his neck, her expression completely calm.

She looked up and saw Peyton was frowning slightly as she cut her toast in half.

"Peyt." Peyton looked up and Haley smiled. "It will happen," she said with a nod.

Peyton smiled back. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

Toby and Carrie had offered to stay in and watch the kids that evening while the others went out; it was their last night while the others had a couple more days and they had to get up early the next morning to catch the plane anyway. 

The restaurant was a one Haley had spotted in the nearby town, it had table outside, in a beautiful courtyard with wrought iron chairs and flowering hedges and pot plants surrounding it.

Lucas placed a hand on Brooke's back as he gently guided her to a seat. His hand lingered on the back of her chair as she tucked it in, and then he went round to the other side of the table. The others were all taking seats too, opening menus and unfolding thick linen napkins.

"Wow everything looks amazing," Peyton exclaimed.

"You're going to take ages to choose, aren't you?" Nathan asked Haley with a groan.

"Well it's so hard in places like this," she defended herself, "you feel like whatever you don't choose you're missing out!"

The others chuckled and Nathan rolled his eyes.

Lucas found his eyes lingering on Brooke's face as she laughed with Haley. Her hair was in loose curls. The warm night air was bringing back memories of the summer in Boston. He could remember an evening when Amy was still very young, and they had had a rare free night while Haley and Nathan looked after her.

They had gone out for dinner at a restaurant on one of the nicest streets in Boston, which Brooke pined after every time they drove down it. Afterwards they walked through the city, around the amazing lake where the water glowed black in the night.

Lucas could picture Brooke exactly, in a patterned skirt that just brushed her knees, her smooth toned legs ending in feet in little white pumps that contrasted with her tanned skin. She wore a pale blue tank and her hair was down, falling across her brown shoulders.

_She slipped an arm round him, underneath his jacket, and stopped walking. He placed his hands on her upper arms, his fingers trailing lightly up and down over her skin. _

_"Maybe when I get really rich from modelling or whatever I can buy us a house onNewbury street," Brooke said with a grin. "Lots of white stucco everywhere, Louis Vuitton just round the corner…"_

_Lucas chuckled but shook his head, his nose brushing hers. "No one day I'm gonna get us a house back in New York. We can take Amy to central park, and you can shop on Fifth Avenue, or Madison, or whichever you think is coolest. And I'll take my girls out for meals in beautiful restaurants in the evening."_

_Brooke smiled. Then she whispered: "You can't buy houses in Manhattan Luke, only apartments."_

_He shook his head again. "I'm gonna get us a house."_

"_Well I don't mind where we are, house or whatever, as long as I'm with you, and Amy. With my family."_

_She leant her forehead against his, moving her lips forward to close the small gap between them. She smiled as they broke away. "Look at us dreamers. Can't go wishing for too much."_

_He smiled back holding her eyes. "I've been lucky so far."_

Lucas smiled to himself at the memory, though he felt the usual small stab of loss as he remembered those dreams would never come true now. He looked over at Brooke again, and she saw him, smiling as she met his eyes.

The waiter came to the table and she looked away to place her order. Lucas blinked and shook his head slightly, looking down at his menu for the first time.

Darkness was descending and candles had been lit all around the restaurant, casting a gentle glow across the tables. Two tall black haired men with violins and one with a cello came out into the stone tiled courtyard and began to play.

Peyton looked round as a few couples got up and began to dance to the graceful music. Jake caught her eye and shook his head, chuckling. Nathan saw and smiled, standing and reaching out for her hand. Peyton stuck her tongue out at Jake and allowed herself to be led onto the makeshift dance floor.

Haley had already clapped a hand on Lucas's shoulder. "Come on, let's mix it up."

Jake looked at Brooke as the others left the table. "I guess it's you and me, B."

"You knew you weren't going to get out of it!"

He rolled his eyes but smiled as he stood up and took her hand.

- - -

Haley clapped as the song ended, and stood on tiptoe to kiss Lucas on the cheek.

He smiled at her, and then looked up as the music changed to a slower song. Nathan was just about to head back to the table, with a hand on Peyton's back, but he glanced at Haley and she gave him a soft smile. He came over and took her hand, pulling her close to him as they began to sway in time to the mournful song.

"Peyt." Brooke called her friend's name. Peyton turned and bit her lip as she smiled, and went over to Jake, brushing Brooke's elbow as she passed her. Brooke smiled as she watched the two of them come together, and then turned back towards the table, wrapping her arms round herself, suddenly feeling a little awkward at the prospect of her and Lucas going back to sit at it alone.

But he was heading back towards her, slipping a hand out of his pocket as he reached her and interlacing his fingers with hers. She allowed herself to be led back a few steps, and then he turned and stopped, his eyes meeting hers as he wrapped an arm round her.

She gave him a soft smile as she laid a hand gently on his upper arm, and he brought his hand, still holding hers, up to rest between them.

The music was slow and lilting, and she gradually leant her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes for a second. She could feel his fingers through the light material of her top, his hand curved against her side. She could hear him breathing just above her, and she was almost certain she felt him tilt his head slightly to rest his lips against her hair.

* * *

Lucas stuck his hands in his pockets as he wandered outside. The night air, like the house behind him, was completely still, and the sky was covered in a thick sheet of stars. He breathed in slowly and then sighed, the abundant fragrances of the flowers all around him still fresh after the heat of the day. 

Then, as if drawn by an unknown force, he looked to his left and saw a pale figure seated on the wooden bench that stood against the wall of the house.

He went slowly over to her, knowing who it was even before her delicate features became clear in the moon's light.

She looked up and smiled softly, not at all surprised by his presence.

"Hey."

He smiled back. "Hey."

She glanced down as he took a seat, leaning back into the bench.

They sat in silence for a minute, and he thought back over the day; clearing up; getting the kids packed; a quick swim.

"I can't believe it's our last night here."

She nodded. "Me neither. I can imagine just…never going back. Just staying here…with no stress, no work, no commitments. Just stay here with all my best friends."

Lucas sighed and smiled. "Yeah…you could probably get cable fitted her with E! news, maybe MTV too."

She pushed his shoulder lightly and he chuckled.

"I'd miss New York though."

"And I think Ralph Lauren might miss you too."

"They'd survive. I guess the Knicks kind of need you though."

"I don't know, we can't get much worse than last season."

She rolled her eyes. "It was a minor blip."

"That lasted for 30 games."

She waved this away. "You had lots of new players, manager troubles…whatever the New York Times was saying. Next season will be better."

Lucas mumbled doubtfully.

"I guess we really have to go back."

He nodded. "Yeah, we do."

She leant her head against his shoulder in a single movement, still looking out over the garden.

"I'm going to miss it."

"Yeah," he murmured. "Me too."

Brooke looked up and met his eyes, looking back at her intensely. They were frozen for a second, and then she very slowly dipped her head and felt her nose brush his.

They remained still, their foreheads touching. Lucas felt his lips open and tried to stop himself moving his head forward. He felt her forehead push against his slightly, and moved his hand to her arm, his thumb brushing the inside of her wrist.

She closed her eyes for a second, moving her nose against his.

Brooke could hear Lucas breathing, and licked her lips. He moved his head forward, his lips almost meeting hers. But then she very slightly lowered her head, pressing her lips together and away from him. He stayed still for a second, and then let out a shaky breath. Brooke opened her mouth slightly, and then shut it, feeling tears prick her eyes.

She felt him cup her cheek in his hand and tip her head forwards, pressing his lips against her forehead.

She lifted a hand and closed her fingers round his wrist, for a second Lucas thought she was going to remove it but she just held it, gently stroking his skin.

Brooke could feel her throat growing tight. She slid her hand over his, and turned her face into it, kissing his palm. Her lips remained there for a second, and he could feel her warm breath against his hand before she took it away slightly, her finger still laced with his.

Then she stood up, brushing past him as she went inside.

Lucas slowly leant back, staring out at the sky. He closed his eyes, his chest aching.

Half an hour later, he stood up. He could still smell her perfume in the air.

_You can throw things at me now._

_But please review! If only to vent your anger. I did warn you this would be a long and winding road though… Also reviews really do persuade me to write, I'll try and find some time to in the next couple of weeks but I do have to work quite a bit so the next chapter may be quite a short one._


	14. Locked Up Tight

_Okay I suck, I know, this has been a ridiculously long time coming. How about you just hit me or something, go on, you know you want to, just once. Okay, **ow**._

_And with absolutely no further ado we will dive right in (you all remember what had **not** happened right?)_

The lights were off in the cabin, but Brooke's screen flickered in front of her. As usual when thousands of feet in the air she was not able to sleep, but the film wasn't very good and the headphones lay round her neck.

She knew even before she allowed her eyes to slide over to him that Lucas was awake too. His similar inability to sleep on planes was exacerbated as hers was by his circulating thoughts, turning over the events (or event) of the last 24 hours.

Amy had lifted the armrest between herself and her father and was asleep with her head in his lap, lying across the seats with her legs curled up. Brooke reached out a hand and stroked her shoulder, running her fingers over the ends of her hair. She saw Lucas' hand move, and his fingers met hers. She froze, and glanced up at him, but he was still watching a film, and didn't meet her eyes.

Tentatively she slid her fingers over his, taking his hand in hers. He gave hers a light squeeze of reassurance, just a small sign that things would be okay. She smiled, and she saw a flicker of a smile on his own lips too. He released her hand, though he left his own on Amy's shoulder, close to hers. When they were no longer touching he allowed himself to glance at her.

She met his eyes for a second before he looked down at his hand, his fingers reaching out to touch the ring on her fourth finger. He brushed the ruby set in the thick band; it was the ring that had belonged to her grandmother, although as it had been Lucas who had obtained it and given it to her, Brooke always associated it more with him. It used to balance out the engagement and wedding rings that had resided on her other hand, but they of course were no longer there.

He seemed to look at it absently for a moment, and then glance up, coming out of his daydream. He gave her another fleeting smile before he turned back to his film. Brooke found herself watching him for a moment before she looked away, bringing her hand self consciously into her lap where her fingers played over the ring, twisting it round her finger.

At the airport Brooke kept glancing at Lucas as they all said their goodbyes. Amy had fallen asleep on the plane and was lying in her father's arms; at some point Brooke would need to take her but she was trying to postpone saying goodbye to Lucas for as long as possible. The inevitable awkward moment would come when they would feel like they had to say something to each other, and she had no idea what she wanted to say.

She drew back from a hug with Peyton and turned to find he had just finished saying goodbye to Haley. There was a seconds pause before they both realised it would look ridiculous if they didn't say anything to each other, and Brooke forced a smile and then held out her arms for Amy. Lucas blinked, thinking she was going to hug him for a second, and then remembered Amy, stepping forward, flustered, and passing her over. Brooke settled her on one hip and then there was another slight pause before she gave him a brief one-armed hug.

"See you soon."

"Yeah…see you."

* * *

"Thanks so much for this Brooke," Haley said as she packed some of Leyla's stuff into a bag. 

"Oh come on, it's no problem, I love having time with my niece and nephew! Plus with Ames back at school I really have nothing to do with myself!"

Haley smiled. "Yeah, cause it's not like you run a large section of a global, multi-billion dollar company or anything…"

"A small section! And besides, I still owe you for years of being an intermediary with Ames…not to mention babysitting for her whenever Alex is out…"

"You know it's our pleasure."

Jack came into the room at that moment and grinned as he saw Brooke. He ran up to her and she lifted him into her arms. "You psyched about today, Jacko?" she said. "I'm thinking the park, the zoo…maybe a little ice cream," she added in an undertone. Haley rolled her eyes and Jack's grin widened. He nodded his head up and down and Brooke gave a nod. "Yup, I think definitely some ice cream, we've gotta have you all pumped up on sugar when I return you to your mom this evening."

Haley raised her eyebrows and Brooke laughed. "Just kidding."

"Yeah sure…"

Haley went to go and get Leyla and Brooke put Jack down. Nathan came into the kitchen, his hair wet from the shower.

"Hey Brooke," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Thanks for taking them today."

"No problem. You're in a chipper mood."

"Well I've got a day alone with my wife for the first time since you don't want to know when!"

Brooke chuckled. "Okay, say no more. Sounds like you should have held off on that shower though."

Nathan grinned. "Valid point."

* * *

Lucas readjusted one of his headphones as he jogged, feeling a trickle of sweat run down his back. 

In the summer he usually went jogging in the evening rather than the middle of the day but he had been feeling restless that afternoon and so had decided to brave the hot sun. Although it was pretty intense he was glad to be out running; his head had cleared and his feelings were reduced to a vague awareness of the burning in his legs.

He rounded a corner in the path and came out onto the edge of one of the big greens in central park. There were some kids playing baseball on one of the diamonds, and people with dogs everywhere. He felt calmed by the scenes of summer life, and was just thinking he should come more often in the afternoon when a particular child caught his eye.

He recognised the short dark hair immediately, and was just looking round for Nathan or Haley when he spotted the woman the child was running back to, her defined features and brunette waves definitely not those of his sister-in-law.

Lucas slowed and considered turning back. But it was too late.

"Uncle Luke!"

Jack stood up and ran towards him, and Lucas saw Brooke's head jerk up. He slid his headphones of his ears and fixed a smile on his face as he went towards them. He scooped Jack up into his arms as he reached him.

"Hey Jacko, how's it going?"

"I saw the polar bears this morning!"

"Really? Did you go round the whole zoo?"

"Uh huh. Aunt Brooke took me."

Brooke had stood up from her position on the grass, and was standing holding Leyla on one hand. Lucas smiled tightly, and she smiled back. "Hey Lucas."

There was a second as they stood facing each other, holding the two children, before Jack starting talking about the other animals he'd seen.

"Wow. It sounds like you had quite a blast," Lucas said when he was done. "Aren't you lucky to have a whole day with your aunt Brooke."

He caught Brooke's eye, and she gave him a small smile.

Jack nodded. "And later we're going to get ice cream."

"Uncle Luke!" Leyla was holding out her arms, wanting to be held by Lucas. Lucas hesitated for a second before setting Jack down and taking Leyla from Brooke, her arm brushing against him as she handed her carefully over.

Brooke looked down as she stepped back, her senses momentarily overtaken by their close proximity. His T-shirt was damp with sweat, and his arms tensed as he held up his little niece, giving her a kiss. Her fingers itched to touch the curve in his biceps.

"So how've been?"

Brooke's eyes lurched to his face as she heard his voice. "Um, you know, pretty busy now Amy's gone back to school, with work."

"And babysitting," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, that too. How about you?"

"Training's back to full force after the summer. So I've been enjoying the delights of ice baths."

"Ouch."

"Yeah." He checked his watch. "Actually I've gotta finish this run - "

"Yeah, of course. Wouldn't want you to….get out of the zone or whatever."

Lucas caught the small smile on her lips, and smiled back. He handed Leyla back to her and laid a hand on her elbow for a second. "I'll see you soon."

She just nodded, and murmured, "Yeah."

He glanced down and gave a half nod before turning back towards the path, breaking into a jog again.

Brooke watched his retreating figure, finally dragging her eyes away from his T-shirt which clung to the sinuous muscles in his back.

She wished, as she did at some point on most days, that things weren't so awkward between them. She wondered if she should have called him, if they should have talked about what had (or hadn't) happened; if she should have put it down to the starry sky, romantic atmosphere and a little two much wine and just pretended it had never happened; if she should not have got Haley, or Carrie, or Alex to drop Amy of at his apartment at the weekends so they barely saw each other for weeks on end.

She thought about all these things, as she did at some (or several) points on most days. And she also wondered why, even after six weeks, she could still not get a lean-in - a nose-graze…a brush of fingers - out of her head.

* * *

Lucas took another sip of his glass of wine, relishing it. With the start of the season coming up the team were on a strict training regime – one which didn't often allow for glasses of wine, let time for a meal long enough to enjoy one. 

Today however he had some free time after an early morning session, and so was having lunch with Haley to catch up.

"So what do you think of Brooke's new car?" Haley asked, as the waiter came and took their plates.

Lucas looked up, his eyebrows drawing together. "What?"

"She hasn't showed it to you?"

"Um, no."

"Wo, she's had it for like three weeks, I would've thought all of New York had seen it by now."

"Oh. Well, I, uh, haven't seen her that much recently."

"Oh, really? Well I guess you're busy with the season starting again and everything. I'm sure you'll see it soon. It's kind of silly, even she admits, because we all know what garages cost around here, but it's just so beautiful."

"Does she drive it in the city?"

"I don't think she does much, but I guess it'll come in handy if she gets a weekend place like she's been talking about."

Lucas's eyebrows shot up again.

"Tell me you've heard about that! She's been talking about it ever since Italy!"

'And that's pretty much exactly when she stopped talking to me,' Lucas thought.

"She's going to get another place?"

"Yeah, she's thinking about it. Somewhere out of the Manhattan, to go to in the holidays and maybe some weekends. I don't know if she'll actually do it because she loves the city so much, but you never know. I mean, we're all small town girls at heart."

Lucas nodded slowly. He wondered what it would be like if Brooke disappeared of the Hamptons or something every other weekend. Maybe Amy would start wanting to go too and he'd have to let her - Brooke would have some whole thing about how the fresh air was good for her – and then he'd hardly see his daughter at all. Maybe Brooke would like it so much she'd move out there, and she and Amy and John would become some nuclear family in the suburbs.

He shook himself, feeling a chill go down his back.

"So, um, what does John think about the weekend place idea?"

"God Luke, you're coach is working you guys too hard - you really are out of the loop. She broke up with him nearly a month ago." She chuckled at his expression. "Try not to look quite so pleased."

"I'm not! That was…surprise. I thought it was going well."

Haley shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was just a summer thing."

"Did she, er, did she say why?"

"You know what, how about you ask her yourself? You remember that thing you guys were doing last spring, where you actually talked?"

Lucas shrugged. "Yeah, alright."

Like that was going to happen.

* * *

"Hey Bi-atch." 

Brooke looked up from her desk, raising an eyebrow at Carrie. "What did call me?"

Carrie shrugged. "I was gonna say B, and then it just came out. I was watching teen movies the other day…"

Brooke raised her eyebrow further.

"I was sick!"

"Aw, are you better now?"

"Yes, thank you. But anyway…what did I come here for again?"

"Um…you're skipping work?"

"It's my lunch hour. Oh yeah," she remembered, and sat down in a chair facing Brooke. "When was the last time you spoke to your husband?"

"My estranged husband," Brooke corrected.

"Your best friend. Excluding me of course. And I guess Peyton…and Haley, Nathan…" she waved a hand. "Anyway, you're very good friend and father of your child, Lucas."

Brooke shrugged. "A few days ago," she said, not meeting Carrie's eye.

Carrie narrowed them. "What did you say?"

Brooke gave her a weird look. "I don't know. 'Hey', 'Amy has math homework'."

Carrie rolled her eyes. "When was the last time you actually talked to him? In fact, don't even bother making excuses, because I know it was a very long time ago!"

"Did you talk to him?"

"…No. But I could have, because we're actually quite good friends entirely separately from you I'll have you know. But no, actually Nathan was in the office the other day and I was talking to him, and he said Haley had been to dinner with Lucas and apparently he hadn't even heard about your new car! So you, either you're afraid he's going to cut back on the alimony cheques or you haven't spoken to him in like a month."

Try more like three.

Brooke sighed. "I've been busy."

"That's the most pathetic excuse ever! Brooke, seriously, what's going on? Did you guys have an argument or something?"

"No. We're fine, I just…haven't seen him much. He's been training and stuff - "

"Everyone else has managed to see him. And anyway, the season's only just started. I haven't seen you together since way before, since like…Italy. My god Brooke that was in July!"

Brooke shrugged helplessly, and Carrie raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

Brooke sighed, struggling for words. "You know, we spent a lot of time together there and…I guess it…got a little weird."

Carrie frowned. "It got a little weird? Brooke come on, it's always been a little weird."

"What?"

"Well you guys not being together, that's always been a little weird."

"Well it shouldn't be. We're just friends, and he's with Emma. It shouldn't be weird at all."

Carrie opened her mouth to say something and then closed it, chewing her lip. It was pointless arguing with Brooke about this; she wasn't ready to hear it. "Is this why you broke up with John?" Carrie asked after a minute.

Uh, yes.

"No. No, it just, wasn't quite right. I didn't want to get into anything to long term, cause I wasn't really sure about him."

Carrie nodded slowly. She didn't really believe her, but there wasn't much she could do now, and anyway, it probably was better if she wasn't with anyone. There was no need to make the situation any more complicated.

"So you're sure there's nothing you want to talk to me about; nothing happened?"

Brooke shook her head. "No. Nothing happened."

And she wasn't even lying that time.

"Well would you just call him then? It's stupid that you guys aren't talking cause of a 'weird atmosphere'.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah okay, I'll talk to him soon."

Carrie nodded then checked her watch. "I gotta go back to work. Talk to him, okay?"

Brooke nodded again, and forced a smiled before she left.

She wasn't quite sure why she was so resistant to the idea of calling Lucas. As Carrie said, it was stupid to make such a big deal of a 'weird atmosphere'. Brooke knew it was more than that though. That night in Italy she'd felt something she hadn't felt for a long time, something she thought she'd locked up tight and thrown away the key. And it was something that had made her unable to feel anything for John when she returned.

She didn't want to call him though because not calling him - not talking to him, or seeing him – seemed to be working. She was fighting the feeling back into its box, the key was almost in place.

'Out of sight, out of mind' as the phrase went; if he were not out of her sight, she knew she would have a very hard time keeping him from her thoughts.

* * *

There was the sound of feet passing quietly across the carpet, and then the rustling of the duvet as Amy crawled underneath it. 

"Hey baby girl, what's up?"

"I had a bad dream," came the muffled reply.

"Do you want me to take you back to bed?"

Amy shook her head. "I want to sleep in your bed."

"Ames…" Lucas began with a sigh. He was meant to be firm with her about sleeping in her own bed. "Come on," he said after a second. "Let's go outside."

Amy looked up, and Lucas got out of bed, picking her up. She wrapped her arms round his neck and he held her as he headed out of the bedroom and down the hall towards the living room. He supported her with one arm as he came to the screen glass doors that led onto the balcony, and opened them with his free hand.

Rubbing her back to warm her in the cool night air, he stepped outside, closing the door half way behind them.

"Look Ames."

New York at night was just as beautiful as always, and Amy smiled a little before she leant her head back against his shoulder. Lucas rocked her slightly, feeling her slip back to sleep in his arms.

He thought about her mother, as he always did now when he looked at her. Lucas had thought that after a while of barely seeing each other, he would just stop thinking about Brooke. She would fade back to that vague presence in the back of his mind, as she had in the previous couple of years.

And for a little while that seemed to happen. After a couple of weeks he forgot about the kiss…or non-kiss. He didn't think about what it meant anymore, or whether they needed to talk about it. He didn't feel guilty when he looked at Emma.

And then as weeks turned into months, although he wasn't really thinking what had happened in Italy anymore, he found himself thinking about her.

Because whatever had happened, whatever was, or wasn't going on between them, he just missed her.

* * *

Brooke threw her keys on the side table as she entered her apartment, pulling off her scarf as she headed for the ringing phone. They were a week into October, and had just hit a cold snap. 

She reached for the receiver and picked it up, looking behind her, about to collapse onto the couch. But something in the voice on the other end made her stop.

"Ms Davis?" She didn't recognise the woman's voice. And there was an urgency in it that made her think she wasn't try to sell her double-glazing.

"Yes, this is Brooke."

"We've been trying to reach you. This is New York County Hospital. I'm afraid you're daughter was brought in 20 minutes ago - "

Brooke's heart stopped.

"She was badly injured in a car crash. You husband gave permission for emergency surgery and she's in the operating theatre at the moment - "

The phone fell with a clatter as Brooke ran for the door.

_Bum. Bum. BAH! _

_Can't go a whole story without a single bit in a hospital! **Please review!**_


	15. Falling to Solid Ground

_I'm starting to feel like a stuck record but once again I'm so sorry for the delay. I planned Amy's accident since like the start of this story, but every time I sat down to write this I could only get out maybe one terrible paragraph before I gave up. Anyhoo, eventually I've shoved out 12 pages that I'm pretty happy with, so I hope you like them too…_

_As always, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed – every time I got one it pushed me to give this chapter another go. And so voila - here it is!_

The wheels of Brooke's car screeched as she came to a halt outside the hospital. She was vaguely aware of the noise and the fact that she had never stopped in such a ridiculous way before in her life. Everything she did and everything around her seemed to be amplified like this however: her heart was literally racing, and her surroundings seemed to bright and vibrant, as if she had wandered into some kind of psychedelic dream.

It was not a dream though, but a nightmare. All her worst fears were crashing round her as she ran up to the reception desk. Amy: her daughter, the love of her life, her world. This very scene was one she had forced out of her mind when it had entered as one of those unshakable worries in the dead of night.

"Amy Scott – my daughter. She was in a car crash, she was brought in - " Brooke's statement was fractured, it was not a question but the nurse knew what Brooke was talking about and the response she needed.

"She's in surgery, fourth floor."

Brooke's thanks were left behind as she hurried down the hall. As she came past the main waiting area however she was immediately noticed by a large group.

"Brooke!"

She turned, seeing Nathan, and then Haley standing next to him. She saw Emma, Carrie, and then between them, Lucas.

In two steps she was in his arms.

She closed her eyes and pressed her face into his chest, her head held in place by one of his hands, the other immediately on her back. She wanted to ask for information – what was happening to Amy, why weren't they with her, where the others had come from – but for that moment she couldn't step back from Lucas, couldn't face the reality of the situation.

Lucas stood holding her, closing his eyes for a second and leaning his head down.

In the past half hour - since the barely comprehensible call from Amy's teacher, throughout the drive to the hospital, the sight of her on the gurney, the calls to Nathan, Emma, and Carrie, the many, many unanswered calls to Brooke's office, apartment and cell – he had been working on some kind of alter plane. His mind comprehended the events, but he felt like something was disconnected. As if the existence of the possible culmination of these events – the possibility which he could not comprehend – meant that all the events themselves were dreamlike, unreal.

Now he had fallen to solid ground. The entire time he had been plummeting into an oblivion too horrific to contemplate, and he had desperately been searching for the one thing he knew he could hold on to; the only thing that could be his solid ground no matter what.

He held her, and for that moment of time the world he had just been inhabiting – that of racing thoughts, panic, consequences that could not be comprehended - was gone, and he felt only physical things: the beating of his heart, the heat of his breath against her head.

She drew back, taking in a shaky breath that restrained her tears, and found her voice.

"What happened?"

His arms remained round her as he related the bare facts he himself had been told: Amy had been on a school trip with her class, she dropped a coin, ran to chase it, and was hit by a car coming out of a small side street.

Lucas brushed away a few tears which had escaped from Brooke's eyes as he described how he got to the hospital and was told she had been intubated and needed emergency surgery.

"The doctors say they aren't sure if she's sustained any brain damage."

Brooke's breath caught in her throat. She met his eyes, and noticed for the first time how red they were.

"I've been trying to get through to you," he continued. "I called Carrie, and Nate…"

"I was on the subway…" It seemed like another lifetime.

He nodded and looked down. "I'm so glad you're here." It was barely a whisper, but the words escaped from Lucas' mind and Brooke tightened her hold on his arms, drawing his eyes to her. She gave a small nod, pressing her lips together as she felt her emotions press against the barriers she had set up, and his lips twitched in a sad smile.

Why did it have to take this to be in his arms again?

Brooke blinked away the thought, and then looked round for the first time at the others gathered behind Lucas. Carrie met her eyes, and came and placed a hand on her shoulder. Brooke moved back from Lucas a little, acknowledging her friend.

"She'll get through this," Nathan said, coming up and rubbing Brooke's back.

"So what do we do?" Brooke asked, looking up at Lucas.

"There's a surgery waiting room upstairs, we were just waiting for you. But it's, er, family only."

Brooke nodded slowly. "Well, can we…" She felt bad for leaving the others, but she wanted to be near her daughter.

He nodded. "Yeah, come on."

Brooke looked round at the others. "See you later," she said, her voice catching. Haley caught her hand and Brooke gave her a tight smile.

"We'll let you know what's happening," Lucas said as they turned to go, and then he paused awkwardly before Emma. She placed a comforting hand on his arm, and he squeezed it for a second.

"Let's go," he said, placing a hand on Brooke's back and guiding her down the hall.

* * *

The chairs in the waiting room were padded, but they might as well have been covered in nails the amount Brooke wanted to sit on them. Her heart was still racing and the thought of sitting down and waiting for what could be hours while here daughter was lying on a table somewhere was too much to bear. 

Lucas appeared agitated too and looked around him, seeing if there was a nurse he could attack with questions.

"Lucas." Brooke was tugging on his arm. "I want to see her."

Lucas nodded, rubbing her upper arm with his hand absently as he continued to look around. "Yeah, me too. I'm gonna go find a nurse and find out where she is and if we can go to the operating theatre." He looked back down and focused on Brooke. "Just wait here okay - "

"No, I want to stay with you."

Lucas shook his head. He could see Brooke's hands were still shaking; the proximity of the news too near. "You need to sit down for a minute, I'll just be a second."

She hesitated and then nodded, and he was about to turn and leave when he stopped and pulled her into his arms, one hand cupping the back of her head. "It's going to be okay," he whispered. "We'll get through it together, okay?"

He felt her nod against his chest, and placed a firm kiss on her hair.

When he released her Brooke sat weakly down onto a chair, and Lucas left the room. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes for a second, immediately feeling alone and bereft.

As Brooke waited for Lucas she watched the man and girl sitting in the chairs across from her. They appeared to be father and daughter and the little girl was sitting in the man's lap, her face turned in towards his chest. He stroked her hair comfortingly but his face was etched with anxiety.

Brooke noticed the way the little girl's fingers clutched his shirt, and was reminded of Amy. She couldn't believe this was happening now, when it had been so long since she had seen her daughter with her father like that; she promised herself she and Lucas would fix things if only Amy could get through this okay.

The man glanced over and she briefly met his eyes. She realised that as hard as it was for her to see someone with their daughter while hers was fighting for her life, it must have been just as hard for him to see her with Lucas. It was probably his wife who he was sitting here waiting for, and he was probably longing for the comfort of another adult; someone who he could rely on rather than having to put on a brave face for his child.

Brooke knew how lucky she was that Lucas was still in her life; that she was not entirely a single mom. It was at times like this, at the worst times, when she needed him most, and when she was most grateful that he, rather than anyone else, was the father of her child.

Lucas came back in a moment later and sat down next to her, placing a hand on her arm.

"The nurse says we can go and watch for a moment from outside the operating theatre, but the surgeons prefer it if we're not their for the whole surgery. So do you want to go now?"

Brooke nodded. "I want to see her."

"Okay. It's just down the hall." He took her hand as they walked out, leading her past sets of double doors to a large glass window. His arm slipped round her as they turned and looked inside, and Brooke felt the feeling she'd had in her stomach since receiving that phone call intensify as she was pitched forward from the plane of incomprehensibility into stark reality.

Amy was lying on the table, a tube in her throat and her belly open. A nurse stood by her head, and there was another beside one of the two surgeons on either side of the table. Brooke's years as an ER fan meant she vaguely comprehended the other person was the anaesthesiologist. Amy's blood looked startlingly red, and everything else in the room seemed to have a dull, faded colour in comparison.

Brooke held a hand over her mouth and half turned her head into Lucas' chest, watching as hands worked inside Amy's body. She felt Lucas' fingers tighten their hold on her slightly, and a looking up at him saw his lips were pressed tightly together.

They stood for a few minutes, watching the movements of the surgeons hands as tools passed between them, and they dipped in and out, each time covered with fresh, red blood.

Neither of them spoke, but Lucas kept an arm wrapped protectively across Brooke as she stood a little in front of him, and bent his head slightly so his lips rested in her hair. He had no words of solace to whisper to her, and so could only hope that his presence was as much a comfort to her as hers was to him. He let her silently break down, the tears running unhindered down her cheeks, until she finally turned away, her hands clutching at his back as she buried her face against his neck.

Brooke couldn't watch anymore. She couldn't hold the weight of the last hour - the anxiety and the waiting, the numerous possibilities and unthinkable outcomes – and bear this new staunch reality of bright blood and glinting knives. She wanted it all to go away for just a minute, for someone to just hold those images for her while she poured out the grief that had mounted up at her daughter's situation.

She felt a his hands on her back, rubbing slowly up and down, and then she was being guided away, her feet stumbling slightly.

They got back to the waiting room and sat down, Brooke drawing her knees up to her chest and leaning her head against Lucas' shoulder. They sat and waited.

"_She's just about stable we're taking her up to surgery. Mr Scott you need to sign these consent forms."_

_Lucas absently scrawled his signature, his eyes not registering the words of the forms, and as his pen left the page the doors of the trauma room burst open and the gurney came out. Amidst the hustle of people he could only just see his daughter, dwarfed in the middle._

"_Amy - "_

_The gurney stopped for a second as a nurse was handed the form, and he pushed to its side and took Amy's hand._

"_Mr Scott she had to go now - "_

"_Yes, yes of course." He stepped back and watched the gurney being rolled away, his fingers feeling the absence. _

_His mind, which had been so focused since he had first heard of the accident, was falling apart. He had done everything he could: rushed to the hospital, called everyone, signed the forms, held Amy's hand. And yet he was standing here in a hallway alone, powerless._

_He leant against the wall, feeling tears suddenly fall, fully formed, from his eyes. His throat was tight and in a second he found himself wracked with sobs. He covered his face, choking on the interminable grief._

_He suddenly heard familiar voices in the entrance of the hospital, and came out to find Nathan and Haley. _

_Haley turned and saw him, and immediately wrapped her arms round him, catching a glimpse of his expression._

"_What's happening?" Nathan asked as they drew apart._

"_She's in surgery, she just went in. Where's Brooke?"_

"_We were calling her on the way over here - "_

"_Did you speak to her?"_

"_We can't get through, but Peyton's trying too, she's on her way."_

"_But – are you trying her cell – where is she!"_

"_Lucas we're trying to find her, it's hardly been any time, she could be in a meeting or something - "_

"_Amy is being cut open upstairs, she needs to – we need to…"_

_Haley took Lucas' arm, trying to calm him. "Lucas, it's going to be okay. We're going to find her and she'll get here, and Amy will be fine…" She was praying all she was saying would come true._

"_I just…I need her here."_

Lucas turned to look down at Brooke and lifted his hand to stroke her hair. He'd hate to think what he would be like now if she wasn't there with him; if the accident had been different…if she'd been hit with Amy…

When he was younger, in college, it used to scare him how much he loved her; he didn't know what he'd do if something happened to her. He couldn't imagine loving someone more. And then Amy turned up.

Lucas knew as soon as she was born that that was it; here was his weakness, his kryptonite. He would do anything for Amy, anything. And the thought of losing _her_…

He had never even let himself imagine it. Until now…when it was staring him in the face as an all too possible reality.

* * *

"Mr and Mrs Scott?" 

Brooke and Lucas stood simultaneously and turned around. The surgeon was still wearing his bandana-like head covering, the mask was pulled down from his face. Brooke didn't know whether this was a good or bad sign.

"Amy's surgery is over."

Lucas heard Brooke's intake of breath.

"It's…she's…" Brooke couldn't quite risk the word 'okay'.

"It went well for the most part," the doctor said, nodding. "She had a collapsed lung which we had to reinflate, so we had to intubate her. She was on a vent for a short period but started triggering the vent an hour ago so we could extubate. She has three broken ribs but they will heal. The damage is mostly on her right side, I understand this is where she was hit. Unfortunately we had to remove her right kidney."

Lucas was nodding slowly, trying to take this all in, Brooke had heard very little after 'it went well'.

"Can we see her?"

"She's still under the effects of the anaesthesia, but she's been moved to a recovery room, and you can see her there."

"How long will it be till she wakes up?"

The doctor sighed. "She's been through a lot and her body is pretty worn out, but hopefully before morning."

Lucas nodded.

"Mr and Mrs Scott, I must warn you that, although the ambulance responded quickly and the early signs are showing she will be fine, Amy's brain was still starved of oxygen for a short period. In children's cases especially, it is always possible that there may be unforeseen damage."

Brooke nodded and swallowed.

"As I said the early signs are good, she's breathing on her own and her body is reacting as it should. The damage would only be small." He gave them a comforting smile. "She's been lucky."

"Thank you," Brooke said, "for saving her."

"That's what we're here for. I'll take you to her room."

As the surgeon came to a stop outside a door Brooke and Lucas heard familiar voices from the other end of the hall. The others had come up from downstairs and were making their way towards them. Peyton had joined them, and drew Brooke into a hug as soon as she reached her.

"I'm so sorry B," she whispered. Brooke hugged her friend back tightly.

"But she's doing okay now right?" Peyton asked as they drew back. "The nurse told us downstairs that she was out of surgery.

Brooke nodded weakly. "Yeah, she's…she should be okay."

"Thank god. I came as quickly as I could; Jake sends his love, he had to get the kids."

"Right yeah…where's Jack and Leyla?" Brooke asked Haley. "I'm sorry it's taken so long."

Haley waved a hand. "They're with Jake, don't worry about anything, we all want to be here for you."

Brooke smiled. "Thank you."

"Come in and see her," Lucas said to them all, one hand on the door of the room the surgeon had shown them.

"She's asleep so you can all go in," the doctor said.

At his nod Lucas slowly opened the door and he and Brooke went in. His hand was on her lower back and she felt his fingers curl round her waist as they looked at their daughter, lying peacefully on the bed.

A tube ran from her wrist to an IV stand, and another over her face went in her nose. Bruises had formed on much of her right side and there was a red cut across her cheek.

As the others entered behind them Lucas gently pushed Brooke forward, and she slowly made her way to the chair next to the bed, and sat down. She reached out and took Amy's hand, enclosing it in both of her own.

Lucas felt himself smiling slightly as he watched her, waves of relief still crashing over him that Amy was lying here so peacefully; bruised and battered but still there, still his little girl, with the monitor beeping comfortingly.

Brooke swallowed, and reached up to touch Amy's hair.

"Hey Ames," she whispered. "I just wanted to say…that I'm here. And I love you. And your Daddy's here too…and Aunt Haley, and Uncle Nathan, and Carrie, and Peyton, and Emma…we're all here, and Jake's going to be here soon too," she added with a smile. "With all your buddies. And we're all here to help you get better, okay? Because we love you, and we want you to get better."

She brushed her thumb forwards and backwards across her hair. "You've been so strong…you're doing so well Ames."

Brooke glanced up and met Nathan's eyes from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He gave her a small smile and cupped Amy's foot over the bedclothes, giving it a very light shake. "You get better, okay kiddo?" he said. "You know me and your dad have both done this before so these girls are all bored of hospitals. We want you better and out of here, okay?"

Lucas smiled a little and Haley rolled her eyes at Nathan's less than compassionate words.

"What?" Nathan asked, seeing his wife's look. "Just so she knows what she's got to do."

"She'll manage, she's a trooper," Carrie said. "I remember when she was only about five and I was babysitting, she cut her finger in the bathroom. And she came into the living room all calm and just said: 'Aunt Carrie, I think this towel is ruined.' I freaked out _way_ more than she did, I can tell you."

"Yeah well, you never were very good with blood," Brooke said, shaking her head.

Carrie shuddered. "I still can't watch Nip/Tuck."

* * *

The others stayed another hour until the nurse came to check on Amy and reminded them that it was past the end of visiting hours. They had been allowed to stay a little later because when most people were leaving the hospital Amy's surgery had only just finished. Now however there were only a couple of night nurses on the ward and they were eager for some peace and quiet. 

The nurse offered to bring a cot in for one of Amy's parents to spend the night with her, but Brooke and Lucas asked if they could both stay, and said they'd be fine with chairs. The nurse was used to parents of child patients; she knew she would not be winning any arguments, and allowed them to stay.

When the others had finally trooped out with further hugs and 'best wishes', Brooke sat back in her chair, drawing her feet up onto it and rubbing her eyes.

"Tired?"

She nodded, and Lucas gave her a comforting smile. "Yeah, me too."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, eyelids drooping. Brooke absently wrapped her arms round herself, giving an involuntary shiver.

"Are you cold?" Lucas asked, reaching for hem of his hoody.

"I'm fine," Brooke said. It was a little chilly actually, but she hadn't consciously noticed. She was still dressed in the skirt and shirt she had worn to work that day, and in her hurry to get to the hospital she had left her jacket at her apartment.

"Well have this anyway." Lucas pulled his hoody over his head, revealing a grey T-shirt underneath.

"No, come on, you're going to freeze."

"I'm fine. And hey, at least I'm in sweats; that can't be comfortable," he said, indicating her attire.

"Well I didn't really think to change…"

He managed a wry smile, and held the hoody out to her.

She hesitated. "Are you sure?"

He rolled his eyes and kept his hand out. She gave him a small smile and took it. "Thanks."

She stood up and turned away from him, unbuttoning her shirt. It had been the last thing on her mind that afternoon but since it looked liked they'd be spending the night at the hospital she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to get out of the stiff collar and constrictive cut.

Lucas cast his eyes down as she slid the shirt off, revealing the back of a white lacy bra before she pulled the sweatshirt over her head.

She turned and sat down again, avoiding his eyes, and pulled her hair back into a messy bun. Pulling the sleeves down over her hands, she leant back in the chair once more.

"Better?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said quietly, offering him another small smile.

They slipped into silence again, which was interrupted sporadically by the beeps of the machines surrounding Amy. Their eyes invariably wandered to and from their daughter, occasionally meeting in the middle and lingering for a second.

Eventually Brooke spoke again. "I haven't spent a night in a hospital since she was born."

Lucas nodded. "Me neither." He tipped his head back against the top of his chair. "It doesn't seem that long ago."

Brooke let out an inaudible sigh. "Yes it does."

* * *

Lucas looked over at Brooke again in the dim light of the room; it had been quiet for a while. He saw she had gone to sleep, her head resting on her arms on the edge of Amy's bed. He was glad she could get some rest. 

He sighed as he looked back at Amy. He watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, comforted by a motion he had always taken for granted. He laid a hand on her pillow and ran his finger over her hair. On the other side it almost mingled with Brooke's, the colours blending in the low light of the room.

"I hope you know how much I love you kiddo," he whispered. "How important you are to us. I don't know if I tell you enough…because the truth is you mean everything to me…"

Lucas tucked the top of her bedcovers a little more tightly round her. "I hope you're having sweet dreams Ames."

* * *

Brooke blinked at the light in the room, and raised her head. She rubbed her eyes and looked round at her surroundings, immediately remembering where she was. She saw Lucas in the chair across from her, and he gave her a small smile as she blinked at him. 

"Morning," he whispered.

"Hey." She looked over at Amy and reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear that wasn't really out of place. "Have you been asleep?" she asked.

He shook his head slowly.

"Has she woken up at all?"

Another headshake, but he added. "No, but it's still early. The doctor said not to expect anything yet."

She nodded slowly. "What's the time?"

"It's a little after seven. Do you want something to eat? I can go to the cafeteria, or vending machines or whatever."

"I'm not really hungry."

"You haven't eaten since yesterday morning," he said gently.

"Could _you_ eat anything?" she retorted.

He hesitated and shook his head, conceding her point.

"At least I slept. What'd you do, brood all night?" she teased him.

He shrugged. "I can't sleep when my baby girl's sick."

Brooke nodded slowly. "Right, yeah I remember." When Amy got the flu, even now, Lucas sat up with her all night, even after she'd fall asleep. And the first few night after she was born he'd hardly slept a wink, watching over her and Brooke.

"But Lucas she's going to be in the hospital for a little while," Brooke said gently, "Promise me you'll learn to go to sleep when she does."

"Well…I was worried about you too," he added, looking down at his hands.

"I'm not the one with insomnia."

"Brooke you went through hell yesterday - " he pre-empted her protests that he had too and waved them away. "I know…but I just felt better knowing you were asleep. That you wouldn't wake up and…worry or anything."

She couldn't help but smile. "Well why don't you get some rest now. I've got her."

He smiled. "Yeah, I know. But I'm fine; I rested my eyes a little. Anyway it was nice…you guys look even more alike when you sleep."

Brooke blushed.

Lucas grazed his knuckles feather-lightly against Amy's cheek as he sat watching her. The morning was drawing on and he was hoping she would have woken up by now.

He drew his hand back and let out a small sigh, and it was as this air escaped his lips that he saw it.

A flutter of her eyelashes, like the opposite of a blink.

"Brooke!"

Brooke had been looking at one of the monitors. "What?"

"She blinked! I mean – her eyes opened - "

"What!"

Brooke leant over Amy and suddenly there was another flutter, and then her eyes opened.

This time she did blink, properly. A wide smile broke out over Lucas's face as he saw those brig brown eyes again.

Amy opened her mouth, and Brooke quickly reached for a glass of water from the bedside table. Lucas gently helped Amy sit up a little, and Brooke held the glass to her lips so she could drink.

She let out a small cough, and then her voice came out in a whisper, "Thanks Mom."

Brooke almost cried. "Welcome back kiddo."

"I had a dream about you," Amy continued, her voice still a whisper. "You were playing basketball. And dad was there too"

Brooke smiled. "Was he writing a magazine?"

Amy let out a small chuckle. "No, he was teaching you." She turned her head to look at Lucas. "I heard you talk…"

Lucas frowned slightly as he saw there were tears in her eyes.

"It was like a dream but different. I could hear you but I couldn't talk back. I wanted to say I loved you too."

Lucas smiled and bent down to kiss her forehead. "That's okay. I know you do sweetheart."

He stroked her hair as Brooke slipped away to get the doctor. He took her hand and squeezed it. "We're so glad you're okay."

_**Please review! **I need them like Lucas needs Ames!_

_As I'm sure you guys can guess my only medical knowledge comes from ER reruns, so I doubt this is accurate, and I don't have much internet access on holiday so I can't really check stuff. Hopefully it'll do!_


	16. Love Is Not Enough

_Yo peeps. Thanks for all the reviews, I love 'em! This is dedicated to Ellie for her lovely long review – it made my day! On with the chapter…_

Brooke and Lucas stood anxiously by the bed while the doctor finished checking Amy. A nurse stood on the other side taking notes on her chart.

Lucas felt Brooke's fingers brush against his and he took her hand and squeezed it, giving her a comforting smile as he turned and caught her eye.

Dr. Howlett finally turned to them both, hanging his stethoscope back round his neck. "Everything's looking great," he said, smiling at them both, "We'll need to keep her in for a few days because she needs to stay on the IV, and we'll keep an eye on her other kidney, but there shouldn't be any long term problems."

A smile broke across Brooke's face. "Thank you," she said after a beat, "Thank you so much."

Dr. Howlett nodded with a smile and then turned to Amy, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Did you hear that – sorry honey I really should have told you first – your certainly old enough to be in charge of your own medical care. Would you like the full report, or just the gist of it?" he asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

Amy pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Will the full report have big words I don't understand?"

"It just might."

"Can you say it really fast like they do on TV? When they're walking down corridors and they keep bursting through doors and everyone's yelling things at them but they just keep telling this one nurse or somebody about their patient?"

He chuckled. "I could give it a try!"

Amy grinned. "I'd like the full report then please."

Dr. Howlett nodded and then held out his hand to the nurse, who handed him the clipboard with the notes. He perused them briefly and then turned to Amy and cleared his throat, before rattling of a long list of statistics, ailments and operations which apparently could all be applied to her in the past 24 hours.

" – with a temperature of 99 degrees centigrade," he finished with a flourish. Amy's eyebrows had risen a good few inches. "I've got all that? I thought you said I was okay?"

He chuckled good-humouredly. "Well you're doing very well for someone who's had all that, so yes, you're okay. Although, if you're feeling a little hot, you could always try and get your temperature to drop just a few points of a degree." He shrugged. "You know, just if you wanted to absolutely perfect."

Amy nodded slowly. "Maybe if I eat have some ice cream?"

"That sounds like a great idea. In fact, I'll have a nurse bring you some." He smiled at her and then stood up, turning to Brooke and Lucas once more.

"She should get as much rest as possible, and although I'm sure she will be hungry do make sure she eats. But probably things like soup, ice cream, maybe smoothies, would be best for today, her throat will be a little sore after the intubation."

They both nodded, and thanked him again, and he left with another smile to Amy, and a promise to get someone on to that ice cream.

Brooke took his place on the edge of Amy's bed, taking her hand. "Doesn't that all sound great Ames? You're doing really well."

Amy nodded then hesitated. "I didn't really do anything though."

"Sure you did," Lucas said, "Your body's been fighting all night…it might want a nap soon," he added, hinting.

Amy giggled. "I already heard my doctor say I should sleep! I will later."

Lucas smiled and sat down in a chair. "Okay."

"Your doctor's nice, huh?" Brooke said.

Amy nodded. "Yeah. I wish I could have had Doug Ross though…but I guess George Clooney is kind of busy."

Brooke snapped her fingers in mock dismay. "See, I knew we should have moved to Chicago! If we were at Chicago County General I bet you would have had him."

"Well duh," Amy said, "He's the head of paediatrics!"

Brooke giggled. "Oh well, maybe next time."

Lucas's laugh turned into a choke. "Er, next time?"

"Right, yeah, sorry. It's never going to happen again, right Ames?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry," she said, looking down.

"No, hey, it wasn't your fault. The driver was backing out way too fast. But it'll just remind you to always double check on the roads okay? Because things can happen really quickly."

Amy nodded, and Brooke smiled and squeezed her hand.

Lucas suddenly checked his watch. "Oh hey, we should call the others and let them know."

"Oh right, yeah. Shall I - "

"No I can do it, it's fine."

Lucas stood up to go and use his cell phone outside – they weren't allowed in the hospital – while Brooke turned back to Amy.

"Does Uncle Nate and everybody know I'm here?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, everyone does. Your dad's just going to go and tell them you're okay. They were all here last night Ames, they were all really worried about you."

"Really? They came to the hospital?"

"Yeah, and they were sitting in here with you after your operation. Uncle Nate and Aunt Haley, and Peyton and Jake and Carrie and Emma – they were all here."

Amy smiled. "That's cool."

"It was good because Mommy was a little…stressed out," Brooke said with a chuckle. "So it was nice that everyone was there to help me stay calm."

"Was daddy worried?"

"Of course sweetheart." She rubbed Amy's arm. "I've never seen your Daddy so scared," she whispered.

Amy swallowed.

"But he made sure you got into the operating theatre. He was with you right after you arrived at the hospital."

Amy smiled. "So I wasn't by myself."

Brooke shook her head. "No. Your daddy was here, and he made sure the doctors were all doing what they should, and he saw you go upstairs, and he called everybody, and then he took me upstairs and we saw you when all the doctors were working on you, and I was so scared…and your dad said it would be okay. And it was." Brooke smiled.

"He was like a superdaddy," Amy said, smiling too.

"Yeah. Like a super daddy."

* * *

There was a light knock on the door and then it opened and Carrie stuck her head through. Her face broke into a wide smile as she saw Amy sitting up on the bed. "It's true!" 

She rushed over and wrapped her arms round the little girl, who hugged her back tightly. "Oh god I suddenly thought I'd dreamt your dad's phone call and you were still unconscious!"

Amy giggled as Carrie drew back. "Nope, I'm all better now."

Carrie reached out and touched Amy's bruised face. "Well I don't know about that, but it's so good to see you smiling kiddo. Now, I hear you've been really brave, and you know what brave little girls get?"

"No," Amy said, shaking her head but smiling.

"Presents!"

Amy grinned and Carrie lifted her bag onto the bed. "We have those triple chocolate cookies you love, and chocolate and peanut butter spread from Zabar's, and I brought Henry from your apartment - "

"Henry!" Amy squealed, taking the elephant soft toy and squeezing it tightly. "Oh thank you Carrie."

"No problem, I picked up some clothes for you too Brooke – sorry Lucas I don't have a key for your place but I can go and get some stuff if you want?"

"Oh thanks Carrie," Brooke said, taking the small pile.

Lucas hesitated. "You just got here I'd hate to send you out again - "

"It's no problem."

"Luke, you should take a break," Brooke pitched in. "Go home…get some food, take a shower. We've got her," she said gently, giving him a little smile.

He bit his lip, then nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll be back soon." He stood up and leant over Amy, kissing her forehead. "I'll be back really soon Ames, okay? Get some rest or something if you want."

"Okay. Bye daddy."

"So do you feel tired baby?" Brooke asked Amy when Lucas had gone.

Amy shook her head. "No. I wish I could do something."

"There's loads of stuff you can do in hospital!" Carrie said. "Have you checked out the bed yet?" she asked, taking the remote that lay near Amy's pillow.

Amy shook her head. Carrie glanced at Brooke who rolled her eyes but shrugged, giving her permission. Carrie pressed a button and Amy's feet started rising back up in the air.

"Wo! Cool!"

Carrie grinned and pressed the other button, so her back moved up too.

"Okay!" Brooke interrupted, as Amy came dangerously close to being sandwiched in the middle, "I think we've found out how the bed works."

Carrie slowly lowered both ends back down again, looking sheepish. "Hey, when you're a little better we can borrow one of the wheel chairs and find a straight corridor somewhere, okay?"

Brooke chuckled and shook her head.

"We won't tell your mom," Carrie stage whispered, and Amy giggled.

* * *

"Hey." 

Brooke and Carrie both looked up as Lucas came into the room, lowering a cup of coffee in front of Brooke's face and then holding another out to Carrie as he sat down.

"Ooh, thank you," she said, while Brooke was silent as she carefully lifted the lid and inspected the contents of the cup. She turned to Lucas with a grin, having confirmed the presence of whipped cream. "Thank you!"

He gave her a smile. "No problem. When did she go to sleep?" he asked, nodding towards Amy.

"Not long ago. After Carrie finished regaling her with a million and one way you can injure yourself in a hospital!"

"_Entertain_ yourself, ways you can _entertain_ yourself," Carrie corrected.

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Uh huh, sure."

Carrie shrugged. "Growing up with two brothers, you find yourself with a lot of spare time in emergency rooms."

"Yeah and how do you think they landed themselves in the ER in the first place?"

"Okay, fine. We won't do the crash dummies game."

Lucas glanced at Brooke. "Do I even want to know?"

She shook her head.

"Oh well," Carrie said shrugging, "There's always TV. We should be right on time for 'Days of Our Lives', or maybe a Spanish soap opera if we're lucky…"

"As long as it's not Scrubs," Brooke said as she found the remote for the small TV in the corner, "We don't need you getting anymore ideas…"

* * *

Lucas checked his watch. "Brooke do you want to come and get some food? Carrie would you mind sitting with her?" 

"Yeah of course, you guys should take a break."

"I'm fine," Brooke said.

Lucas was already standing and now placed his hands on Brooke's shoulders. "You gotta eat, come on."

"I'll eat when I'm hungry," she said, looking up at him, "Really I'm fine."

"You're hungry now, I promise you. You just don't know it yet," he said, leaning down and dropping his hands to her stomach, his fingers poised dangerously to tickle her.

"Luke, I'm fine!" her voice rose as she tried to wriggle away from him, giggling.

He gave her a stern look and held a finger to his lips. "Brooke, some people are trying to sleep. Amy needs her rest."

She turned round and knelt up on the couch, open-mouthed at his audacity and struggling not to laugh. "Well if you hadn't tickled me!"

"Well if you'd just come and eat like a normal person…"

She rolled her eyes and he pulled her to her feet, hustling her towards the door. "Come on…we'll be back soon," he said over his shoulder to Carrie.

She smiled and waved them off, chuckling to herself as she watched Lucas drag Brooke down the corridor.

* * *

Brooke let out a little sigh as they stepped out of the hospital. 

"Seems like a million years since you set foot in here, right?"

She turned to Lucas and nodded. He laid his hands on her shoulders, his fingers gently digging in, kneading away the knots of tension. "So where do want to go?"

Brooke shrugged, his hands rising with her shoulders. "Anywhere with food."

"Oh, _now_ you're hungry."

Brooke chuckled. "Yeah, _now_ I'm starving. Come on!" She grabbed his hand and they headed off down the street, stopping at the first sandwich place they found.

* * *

"Brooke, come on! Please tell me you've at least narrowed down the choices," Lucas said, as he stood holding his sandwich, while Brooke continued staring through the counter at all the fillings. 

"Yeah of course, I have it down to two. It's either the chicken, tomato and pesto, or tuna and sweet-corn…although I'd kind of like something with cheese…"

"So that's not two."

"Well it almost is, okay?" she retorted, pouting at him.

Lucas rolled his eyes and turned to the guy behind the counter. "Is it possible to get the chicken and pesto with mozzarella in it?"

"Uh…yeah, sure."

"Great, we'll take one of those please. Brown bread."

Brooke turned to him open-mouthed. "What if I'd wanted the tuna!"

"You don't, you want the chicken. Come on, it's going to be a great sandwich. Trust me."

She narrowed her eyes. "You'd better be right mister."

Lucas persuaded Brooke to sit down for a minute outside the café and they ate their sandwiches there before heading back to the hospital. Brooke noted, not for the first time that day, how easily she had slipped back into her comfortable relationship with Lucas. They had barely spoken for months and yet they were acting like best friends again.

She found this whenever she was around him for a considerable period of time - on holiday it had been the same – it wasn't long before the wealth of history between them, all those years together in high school and college, meant they couldn't help but act in a friendly – almost intimate – way with one another.

As they walked Brooke had an urge to say something to acknowledge what had happened since the summer, so they could maybe talk about it. She was scared of broaching the topic though; she still didn't know what she would say if he brought up 'it', as she referred in her mind to their almost-kiss. She figured they had enough to think about right now anyway.

Outside Amy's room however she paused, and Lucas turned back to her, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"I just…" She broke off, and then took a breath and started again. "I just wanted to say thanks. Luke. For…getting me through this."

The corner of his mouth raised in a smile, and he brushed his fingers down her arm. "No problem. And…ditto."

Brooke bit her lips but couldn't help a smile, and then she stepped forward impulsively and wrapped her arms round his neck, hugging him tightly. Lucas smiled into her hair, a little surprised, and he wrapped his arms round her small frame.

Brooke sighed against his shoulder. "What would I do without you?" she whispered.

Lucas felt his throat suddenly restrict and then he smiled again, remembering his old reply.

"You never have to worry about that."

* * *

Brooke and Lucas spent their second night in the hospital in considerably greater comfort than their first. Brooke was on a cot that had been wheeled into the room, and Lucas on the sofa, despite Brooke's protest. Although the room was quite small there was something to be said for private healthcare – it was not sparsely furnished. Of course it was not the Ritz either and so Lucas' makeshift bed was not terribly spacious, but he lived up to his promise to Brooke and so, when he was sure by the even sound of their breathing that both Brooke and Amy were asleep, he did go to sleep himself. 

The next day Haley dropped in with Jack on his way to school, because he refused to believe Amy way okay until he saw her. Jake came by too and stayed to chat to them. He reluctantly had to head off to work too though after a little while.

"But Peyton said she'd definitely come by later," he said, as he stood up to go, "And I told to her to bring some food."

"That's great, thanks man. Oh and Brooke…Emma called while I was out getting breakfast. She said she'd come over in her lunch hour, if that's okay."

"Uh yeah, that sounds great. Maybe she'll bring you something good, huh Ames?"

Amy grinned and nodded.

Lucas gave an exaggerated shrug. "I don't know, she _may_ have mentioned something about blueberry pancakes, but maybe I heard wrong…"

"Yay!" Amy's smile widened .

"And you know, something healthy too…" Lucas added, catching Brooke's look. Brooke rolled her eyes but smiled.

"It's a pity you can't stay," she said, as she followed Jake to the door.

"I know. Work's such a drag."

"Yup. If only money weren't so much fun."

He chuckled. "Seeya Luke," he said, holding up a hand. "Bye man, thanks for coming by," Lucas said, before turning back to Amy.

Brooke glanced over her shoulder at him and then turned back to Jake. "Um, did Peyton mention when she might be coming by?" she asked.

"Uh, I think she was going to try this afternoon…but she could, uh…probably take a lunch hour…if that might be better?"

Brooke didn't quite meet his eyes, but nodded. "That would be great Jake, if that's okay with her."

He nodded and rested a hand on her elbow for a second. "Yeah sure, it'll be fine."

She looked at him and gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

Brooke, Lucas, Emma and Peyton were all sitting round Amy's bed finishing up the wide array of food that Emma and Peyton had brought between them. There was a knock on the door and they all turned to it. 

"Karen!"

Karen embraced Brooke as soon as she got through the door. The younger woman threw her arms round her and Karen hugged her warmly. "Oh Brooke, it's so good to see you. How are you holding up?" she asked as they drew back.

"Much better," Brooke said with a smile.

Karen turned towards the bed, where Amy was sitting up. "And how's my favourite granddaughter? Amy I have to say you gave your Gams the fright of her life." She went to sit on the side of Amy's bed and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm feeling much better," Amy said. "But look, I've got this thing in my wrist," she held out her IV proudly.

"Ugh, honey I know. All this hospital stuff is horrible. But I hear you've been so brave."

She looked up at Lucas, who was standing by the bed, and seemed to give a little sigh before standing up and taking him into her arms. "Oh my boy." She closed her eyes tightly, and Lucas smiled as he hugged his mom. "Now you know what you put me through!"

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah…sorry about that."

Karen smiled. "It was worth it."

She looked round the rest of the room, smiling at Peyton and Emma. "Peyton, Emma, it's so good to see you."

"Yeah, you too Karen," Peyton said, and Emma smiled. She had met Karen a number of times before, but mostly only briefly when Karen visited Lucas in New York. She had once stayed with her in Tree Hill. She had never before seen Karen with Brooke.

"So my dear," Karen said, turning again to Brooke, but keeping an arm round Amy. "As well as coming to see how my _wonderfully_ brave granddaughter is doing in hospital, I've also come to give you a break, and see how _you're_ doing. Are you eating enough?"

Brooke laughed. "Yes."

"Sleeping? How's the hospital? Are you having flashbacks of giving birth? Because whatever Lucas may claim about being worried sick etc etc he hasn't got to deal with the panic attacks this place can bring on!"

Brooke laughed.

"Hey!" Lucas complained. "I _was_ worried sick! And I've had bad experiences in hospitals too!"

Karen shook her head at him. "Lucas honey you were comatose after your accident, it was hardly nerve-wracking for _you_. And haven't you learnt by now nothing you've been through can top the sheer hideousness of childbirth?"

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Now, would it be okay with you Amy if I borrowed your mother for a nice cup of coffee and a muffin at the Starbucks across the street?" Karen asked Amy, "I'm sure she could do with some relaxation since my son obviously hasn't been taking care of her."

Amy giggled. "That would be okay."

Brooke grinned. "That sounds great."

"Hey!" Lucas sputtered. "I have to drag you out of here to get food or anything! You won't set foot away from Amy for less than a fire alarm."

Brooke shrugged. "You're going to be here, she's in good hands. You'll have fun with Dad while Gams and I go for a chat, right Ames?"

"Uh huh."

"See!"

Lucas just shook his head. "Women."

Karen stood up. "Peyton, Emma, care to join us? You've got a kid Peyton you must hate these places too, and Emma…well I'm sure you'd like to get out of here anyhow!"

They both laughed, but Peyton shook her head. "I'm gonna stay and chat to Ames for bit I think, you guys have a good time."

"We'll see you later," Emma said.

"Alright." Karen turned to Lucas. "Don't look so put out Lucas, I'm taking you to dinner later." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "It's very nice to see you."

He smiled. "Yeah, you too ma. See you later," he said, catching Brooke's eyes too, and touching her shoulder.

"Bye," she said, with a smile, and Karen guided her out of the room.

"Dad is there anymore Apple juice?" Amy asked once they'd gone.

Lucas looked around. "I think you drank it all baby, hang on I can go and get some more."

"Oh I'll go," Peyton said standing up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's about time I made myself useful."

"Um, mind if I come with you?" Emma asked.

"Uh, sure."

"Might as well get some food for later," she said, glancing at Lucas.

"Oh yeah, thanks," he said. "My wallet's around…"

"I've got it," she said, giving him a smile. "See you in a bit."

"Yeah, see you."

Emma and Peyton headed down the hallway. There was silence for a minute.

"So…they're pretty close," Emma said finally.

Peyton looked up, eyebrows raised.

"Karen and Brooke," Emma explained.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I guess Brooke is kind of the daughter she never had. She lived with Karen for some of junior year, and her parents weren't really around after that so Karen was kind of a surrogate mom. And…spending Christmases and Thanksgivings and stuff with Lucas, she sort of became part of the family."

Emma forced a smile and looked down. "Yeah…"

Great. Another thing that made Brooke perfect.

* * *

"So what happened with John?" Karen asked, as she and Brooke sat down in comfy leather armchairs, holding steaming mugs of coffee. "It didn't work out?" 

Brooke shrugged. "No. He was nice but…I don't know, I never really had strong enough feelings for him."

Karen nodded, looking sympathetic. "It's difficult isn't it? Dating with a kid in tow. Especially if there's a father figure around…I always felt myself feeling guilty about Keith whenever I even thought about seeing someone."

"Yeah," Brooke nodded. "But then, Lucas has Emma, so it shouldn't really matter."

"Exactly. I mean, I can't say Lucas would be exactly _happy_ if you were with someone," Karen said, continuing but noting Brooke's suddenly raised eyes, "But I'm sure he'd be happy for you. And like you said, he's seeing Emma, so you can't let his presence hold you back."

"Oh it doesn't," Brooke said quickly, "But it's still a bit…I don't know. It just feels inappropriate."

Karen nodded. "I understand. Of course, in my case things were complicated by the fact I think I always had feelings for Keith, even before I really realised it, so it did hold be back." She kept her eyes on Brooke as she took a sip of her coffee, but Brooke was looking away. "I guess for me it was just staring me in the face, but he was so close I couldn't see it," she said slowly.

Brooke's eyes flicked down, looking into her mug. "Yeah…"

Karen sipped her coffee smiling to herself. She set down her mug. "Well I'm sorry it didn't work out honey. Now, tell me about work…"

* * *

Lucas bent down and kissed Amy's forehead before pulling the covers up around her and tucking her in. She had just fallen asleep. Outside the light of the sun was dimming and the lights of the city were flaring up. 

He suddenly smiled as he spotted something, and picked it up off Amy's bedside table. "Did my mom bring this?" he asked, holding up the little red, green and white stuffed dog to Brooke. "She gave it to me after my accident, she got it in Italy."

Brooke chuckled. "Yeah, I guess she thought it was appropriate."

Brooke was sitting on the couch – actually more lying on it, her back against the armrest and her legs extended along it, her knees bent slightly.

"Does it remind you of it much?" she asked after a beat. "Being in the hospital?"

Lucas went over to the couch, lifting Brooke's feet so he could sit down and then placing them in his lap. "Yeah…I mean, I don't remember much…just the bit after I woke up, seeing people and stuff."

"You were in the hospital for quite a while."

"Well that time was so traumatising I could've blocked it all out," Lucas joked.

"What, your recovery? With everyone waiting on you hand and foot?"

"Actually I was thinking more of the bit that came _after_ I got out of the hospital."

"Oh what? Losing me?" Brooke asked, eyebrows raised. "That can't have traumatised you one bit, you didn't care at all!"

Lucas scrunched up his nose. "I was a jerk back then."

"You can say that again."

He smirked. "Still bitter?"

"You betcha'. You still owe me."

"What? Even after you left me and broke my heart? Uh uh, we're even."

"Hey that was your fault too," Brooke said, a note of seriousness entering her voice for a second. "But you macking with Peyton had nothing to do with me, it's not like you weren't getting enough love!"

Lucas bit his lip and chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, you're right." He absently ran his hand up and down her lower leg, leaving it resting on her ankle.

"Anyway, it's in the past," Brooke said.

He looked up at her, giving her a sad smile. "Yeah…"

* * *

"Did I really drive you away?" 

Lucas could make out Brooke's silhouette in the dark. She didn't move. He couldn't tell if she was asleep.

"No Luke."

He paused and then asked into the darkness. "Why did you leave?"

There was silence for a second and then he felt Brooke move, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I was scared." Her voice was a whisper in the silence. "I was scared by what was happening to us. I mean, you remember it Luke…we'd never argued like that before or…gone to bed still mad, without fixing anything first, without saying we loved each other…"

Lucas had taken one of her hands in his own and was looking down at it, his fingers playing over hers.

"And I couldn't stop thinking…about my parents. And all the shouting and crying and…crap…I went through. I couldn't bear the thought of Amy going through that too."

Lucas started to speak and found his throat was tight. He swallowed. "You don't think we could have got through it? If you'd just said…" He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "I would have done anything Brooke. For you to stay."

Brooke shook her head. "I never said it was right. But I couldn't stand it Luke. I mean, you remember how I was - in high school and college – I spent my whole life playing some ice queen but I was completely in love with you. I lived and died on your smiles and frowns Luke. I don't know, maybe that was the problem; maybe I needed too much assurance; maybe I was stifling you - "

"No," Lucas interrupted, shaking his head, "No, it was…well it was lots of things. We've both hashed it out enough times, I'm sure. I guess we just thought we were in love and that would be enough. I mean, every relationship takes work and we didn't do that, we just left it and let ourselves drift apart and when we got stressed about things – and there was a lot to get stressed about! – we took it out on each other."

Brooke nodded slowly. "Yeah…I guess it's true: sometimes love isn't enough." She looked up and met Lucas' eyes.

He sighed and looked down. "Yeah, we're living testimony of that."

_Review! Or not, you know, I don't really mind. Much. Well not that much. Really, it's fine, you can just go. If that's what you really want. Sob. No really, it's fine, I know you're busy, you can just go.  
What? No I'm fine, it's just something in my eye._


	17. Here for her Tears

(_Waves guiltily) Hey guys, long time no see (weak chuckle). So I'm **so sorry **that you've had to wait such a long time for this. I've just started the sixth form (junior year) at school, and life just came down on me like a big tonne of bricks. But I have not forgotten about this story, oh no, and I've been working on this chapter in little snippets, which meant it turned out kind of crap, so tonight I gave it a big overhaul and it is now as ready as it's gonna be, so I hope you enjoy it! It's dedicated to everyone who's left lovely little reviews in the past month which have made me keep coming back to this chapter and actually get it finished for you guys, thank you so much! _

"So kiddo, are you excited about going home?" Nathan asked Amy, as he sat with her in the hospital.

Amy nodded. "Uh huh. TV at home is better."

Nathan chuckled. "Food's probably better too. And isn't it cool that your Gams is going to be staying with you?"

"Yeah, she said she'd make spaghetti bolognaise whenever I want," Amy said with a grin. Then her smile dropped a little. "I wish Mom and Dad didn't have to go back to work though."

"You know what? I think they do too. But you're mom is still going to have some time off with you, right?"

"I think that's what she said."

Nathan nodded. "And I'm sure you're dad will come by as often as he can."

"He's already missed three games though," Amy said. "And it's my fault."

"Hey, it's not your fault. He wanted to be with you. I bet he was glad for the excuse to take time off."

Amy wrinkled her nose. "I guess…"

"You know Ames, I'll let you in on a secret. All moms and dads would really love to be able to take days off the whole time to be with their kids, no matter how cool their jobs are."

Amy smiled a little. "That's what Mom says. She says she'd rather spend the day with me than have lunch with Anna Wintour."

Nathan tipped his head on one side. From what he knew about Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, he didn't find that surprising. But he wasn't going to tell Amy that.

"Would you rather be with Jack and Leyla than go to work?" Amy asked.

Nathan smiled. "Yeah, I would. And that's why I don't work that much Ames. See you're Aunt Haley has to work really hard so she can make records, so I get to spend lots of time with Jack and Leyla."

"I thought you were working with Carrie?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, I work too. I'm a producer Ames, but only for a small company, and I don't work full time."

"How much is full time?"

"Well it's different for every job, but it means you go to work every day from the morning to the evening."

"Like Mom."

"Yeah, you're mom works pretty much full time." Nathan hesitated, and then asked something he'd always wondered. "Do you mind it? That your mom has to work a lot?"

Amy shook her head. "Her job is cool, I like what she does. And Alex is really fun and she's always there to look after me when Mom's not." She smiled, then gave a little shrug, looking away from Nathan. "It would be nice if I could do stuff with her more on the weekends though."

Nathan nodded, smiling sadly. "Yeah…you must have lots of fun with your dad though?"

Amy nodded quickly. "Yeah of course, I like that I see him at weekends, but it would be cool if…I don't know, I could be with them both somehow. Like…have two weekends every week."

Or just be with them both at the same time, Nathan thought.

* * *

Brooke perused the shelves of the Pret A Manger across the street from the hospital. Not the she wasn't a big fan of Chicken and Avacado, but she was getting a little bored of every sandwich, salad and wrap option in this place. Thank god Amy was getting out the next day. Although it did mean she had to go back to work, something she was kind of dreading. She loved her job of course but something told her she was going to be having full blown Amy-withdrawal all over again. 

It happened at the end of every summer vacation: she got used to having her daughter around - she and Amy were closer than any other mother and daughter she knew – and so when Amy had to go back to school and she went back to work it was always hard for the first week.

But even in the holidays Amy went off to see friends some days or was with Lucas a lot of the time. Now she'd been in the hospital for two weeks and Brooke had been with her twenty-four seven.

And so had Lucas.

And although Brooke was struggling to admit it to herself, she knew that was the other reason she didn't want to go back to work. In the past couple of weeks she'd spent more time with Lucas than she had in the past couple of years. Except for the holiday that summer of course, but even then there had been so many other people around it was different to spending so many nights in the hospital just the two of them.

She felt like they'd fallen back into a rhythm. She knew what he was saying before he finished a sentence, what he was thinking just by looking at him. And she was used to his presence: his quiet chuckle as he sat reading some magazine while Amy slept; the light touch of his hand on her shoulder when he came into the room: just checking, making sure she was still okay; the smell of his aftershave, cologne, shampoo – she wasn't sure which, or if it was all of them mixed up – on the sweater he lent her when the room got cold at night.

She fingered the cuffs that hung round her wrists as she waited while her chicken Caesar salad was placed in a bag. She was wearing a blue zip up top of his, she had just picked it up as she left the room, remembering how cold it had been out that morning.

Maybe he wouldn't notice if she borrowed it for a while. It might be nice to have around for the first week out.

Brooke wrapped her arms around herself as she headed back across the street to the hospital. The soft material of the sweater pressed against her.

It would be fine going back to work, she decided. And going back home. She just needed a little reassurance, and little help…

An idea, that she had honestly never considered before, suddenly formed in her head…

"Um, hey Luke I was thinking," Brooke began as she sat down opposite him next to the bed in Amy's room. It was empty – Amy was having a session of physiotherapy.

Lucas looked up at her with an enquiring look.

"I know you have to get back into training and stuff next week, but I was thinking if you still wanted to see Ames…you could stay with us for a few days?"

Lucas raised his eyebrows, pleased by the offer. He had been thinking about it a lot actually – what it would be like adjusting back to the old routine of just seeing Amy at weekends after being with her 24 hours a day.

"Are you sure? I mean – I wouldn't want to impose."

"No of course not, it would be fine. I mean, you're mom's going to be there, and I'll be out at work in the day. You wouldn't have to be there the whole time but you could just drop in whenever you want…it might be nice for Amy…to have you there…" she added.

"Yeah, I mean, I'd love to see her more…just now I mean, while she's still getting better."

"Right, yeah. I mean, maybe just this week," Brooke agreed quickly. They didn't want to get into an awkward situation of inadvertently living together or something.

"Uh, I'll talk to Emma - "

"Right, yeah, you should check with her - "

"But that sounds great."

"No problem."

"Thanks a lot Brooke," Lucas gave her a small smile.

* * *

Karen couldn't suppress a smile as she watched Brooke and Lucas moving round the kitchen, getting breakfast. 

She had to admit, she had been slightly apprehensive when Lucas had first told her he would be coming back to Brooke's apartment for a few days. She was torn between delight that the two of them were at this stage, and anxiety at the fact they seemed to have skipped a number of other stages. Such as breaking up with significant others and actually getting back together.

She was all for the two of them living together, after all, she knew better than anyone how much they cared about each other, but she didn't want to see them get hurt. But Lucas had assured her that it was just for a little while till Amy was settled in, and it didn't mean a thing. Of course.

But whatever they said, something seemed different about them. She wasn't sure whether their relationship really had changed, or whether it was just that it had been so long since she had seen them together, but watching them now, it was definitely something.

They seemed to glide effortlessly round each other, ever aware of the others presence and never bumping into one another, and yet consistently touching as they moved from fridge to cupboard, counter to drawer.

Lucas passed Brooke the milk as he got butter out of the fridge, Brooke gave him a small smile and got out a bowl, passing him a plate for his bagel. He passed her at the counter to get a knife, briefly touching her waist and she glanced up and slid to the side so he could open the drawer. He handed her a spoon as he went back to his plate, and she passed him his bagel as it popped hot out of the toaster. Heading to the opposite counter with her bowl of cereal prepared, she laid a hand on his back for a moment as she passed.

When he sat down opposite her with his buttered bagel, their eyes met for a second and they shared a smile, before he reached for the newspaper, sliding the culture section over to her as he turned through it for sport.

She picked it up, barely looking up, but couldn't help a small smile from forming again on her face.

Karen eventually got up from the table and went to put her plate in the sink, before going to check on Amy. She suspected by the end of the week they'd be so in tune they'd be finishing each other's sentences again.

Lucas glanced up as his mother left the room, his eyes meeting briefly with Brooke's again. His gaze flitted around the kitchen before he turned back to the paper. He wondered if Brooke had had the same thought he had. Probably not, seeing as it hadn't even been this kitchen, but the one in Brooke's old apartment. And anyway, he doubted her mind worked in the same way: he was sure she could be alone with him without turning her thoughts to _those_ times.

Lucas closed the cupboard gently and set the glass down on the counter, not wanting to make any noise and wake Brooke, or worse, Amy. She was sleeping through the night now, which was good, but it probably wouldn't take much to wake her. This had only ever happened once before – one of their episodes with Amy around. Usually it happened when Haley and Nathan were looking after her for a weekend, if he was busy with training and Brooke needed a break. Or sometimes Brooke had showed up at his apartment when she'd still been living with Carrie, leaving Amy there. But that was before they spent the night together.

_Lucas didn't know if Carrie knew it happened, even now. He didn't know if anyone knew._

_He sipped the glass of water, looking round the small kitchen. He didn't like this apartment very much. He wondered how long Brooke was planning to stay. Maybe just till she could afford somewhere better. He wondered how work was going._

_It annoyed him that he knew so little about her life now._

_He heard a sound in the hall and froze, knowing it couldn't be anyone but Brooke but wondering if she might have Amy with her; it would confuse the baby girl to see him here now._

_But Brooke came in alone._

_She smiled at him, and he smiled back, a little hesitantly. It was always hard to guess what mood she'd be in afterwards. For that matter, he never knew how it would make him feel either. Sometimes being near her made him so happy it hurt, and sometimes it filled him with so much remorse and resentment it hurt a hell of a lot more._

_But her smile made him feel good, and he pushed any thoughts of the next morning out of his head._

_She was wearing his shirt; he'd been at a press conference that day, Sky Sports news had questions about the new season. It had been out live on TV, all the players were nervous though they never showed it. _

_And then he'd got a phone call; she'd seen him on TV, he looked sexy, she said, how about a late dinner, Amy was asleep…_

_So now here they were again. Half naked in her kitchen. He was in his boxers, and she was wearing his shirt._

_She lifted herself onto a counter, crossing her legs one over the other and taking a sip from his glass of water. _

_He approached her, setting his hands either side of her and leaning in, touching his lips with her own, sensing her mood. She pushed hers back against his, unfolding her legs so he could move between them, getting closer to her. She cupped his face, running her knuckles along his jaw line. Their noses, foreheads, lips were touching in turn, skin on soft skin. And he was moving his hands, sliding them over her taught thighs and slipping one between her legs._

_She smiled again, but not her usual smile of lust and gratification, a real smile. She was happy; happy then, there, with him._

_She curled her fingers round the back of his head, kissing him softly, tasting his mouth because she liked it._

_Then a little more urgency; they were being swept up in it._

_But for a moment…for a moment there, it had just been because they were in love._

Brooke glanced up as Lucas stood up. She watched him fold the newspaper and take his plate to the sink before he left the room.

She tipped her head on one side a little, running her fingers over the counter.

It was funny, there had been a few times in different kitchens. She wondered why she had thought of that one.

* * *

Brooke dropped her bag on the floor by the coat stand and turned to close the door behind her. 

"Hey, how was work?" Lucas ambled out of the kitchen to greet her, wearing black track pants and a blue T-shirt.

"Tiring," Brooke said, slipping off her coat. "I just wanted to get home and see my baby girl and everyone was asking me stuff, and making me do things…"

"Yup, well that's generally what work involves…you know, unless you get to just play sport for a living."

"Shut up," she said grumpily, and he chuckled. "Sorry. Not the time?"

"No." She finished undoing the straps of the high heels she'd been wearing and pulled them off, dropping them on the floor by her bag. "Where's Ames?" she asked as she headed for the hallway that led to the bedrooms.

"She's asleep," Lucas said.

Brooke stopped and stuck out her bottom lip. "I want to play with her."

"Aww," Lucas smiled and held out a hand, pulling her towards him and into his arms. "I'm sorry you had a bad day."

Brooke just leant her head against his chest and closed her eyes. "I'm so tired," she mumbled.

Lucas stroked her hair and began to manoeuvre her down the corridor. "Come on, you should go to bed." He felt her nod against his chest, and then she turned slightly out of his embrace so they could move more easily towards her bedroom. He stopped at the door and she immediately turned to him again, leaning her head against him once more.

"Why can't I just sleep here?" she murmured.

"Cause that would involve me standing here all night."

"You could stick it out."

He chuckled. "I really don't think I could."

Brooke gave a little disgruntled groan and Lucas rubbed her arms soothingly. "You'll be in bed soon, and it'll be much more comfortable."

She gave a sigh but allowed him to turn her round and, having dropped a kiss on the side of her head, gently push her into her room.

"Night Luke," she said, and gave him a small smile before he closed the door.

Once she had drowsily changed into a T-shirt and brushed her teeth in the en-suite bathroom, she climbed into bed, her head falling heavily onto the downy pillows.

Lucas was half right: it was pretty comfortable, but she wasn't quite sure if it beat the warmth and soft firmness of his cotton-covered chest.

* * *

Brooke looked up as she heard Lucas come into the living room. 

"Hey, do you own a basketball?" he asked, hands in his pockets.

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Uh yeah. I _think_ my daughter _may_ have one. Her dad has…something to do with sport I can never remember."

Lucas rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Where is it?"

Brooke waved an arm towards the hallway. "Should be in one of the closets along there. What do you want it for?"

"Ames wants to go shoot some hoops."

"Why doesn't she find it?"

"She said she couldn't remember if she had it here or at my place. And she says she's tired."

Brooke chuckled. "She's got you round her little finger."

Lucas shrugged. "She's still getting back to her full strength."

"She was running around here just this morning!"

Lucas just smiled. "Well no wonder she's tired." He turned and headed out of the living room in search of the ball. Brooke glanced up from the New York Times as she heard the sound of closets opening and closing. "You might have to look around a little!" she called. "They're not exactly organised…"

Lucas stuck his head back into the living room, one eyebrow raised. "I can see that."

She shrugged and smiled. "You were the one who wanted to play basketball with her…"

He rolled his eyes and turned to start searching again.

Some of the cupboards had shelves of neat matching white boxes, while others had stacks of papers and magazines, and plastic crates of Amy's old toys. Brooke was terrible at throwing things out, he knew, but he was still surprised by some of the old things he found.

"Brooke you still have all Amy's old pacifiers!"

He heard her coming into the hall and turned to her. She shrugged. "They're special."

Lucas wrinkled his forehead. "They're gross."

"They're not! They were like the first things our baby ever loved."

"But they're useless. What are you going to do, make your next kid use hand me down pacifiers?"

"No! And since when am I having another kid?" Brooke said, as she took the box off Lucas and put it back on a shelf.

Lucas just shrugged and shook his head, but she turned to him with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged again. "Figure of speech." She rolled her eyes.

Lucas opened another door to fill the silence. His eyebrows rose and he glanced over at Brooke, but she was engrossed in one of Amy's old school books. He turned back to the shelf in front of him and reached out to lift the box at the front out of the way to reveal what he had glimpsed behind it.

Putting the box on the floor he reached back into the closet for the pile of folded material, all blue, black and white.

Cheerleading uniforms.

There were the three different styles he remembered, his favourite being from Brooke's junior year, the one with that showed the most midriff and had the little flippy skirt.

He sifted through the pile of skirts and tops, and saw that there were a few sets of purple and white uniforms as well, from when Brooke had been a cheerleader at NYU.

The fabric under his fingers was shockingly familiar; it was like when you suddenly recognised an old smell or taste – something your senses have experienced so many times you can never forget it.

"Hmhm."

He looked up suddenly as he heard Brooke clear her throat, and found her looking at him with eyebrows raised.

He held up the pile of uniforms and gave a little shrug. "Didn't know you still had these," he said with a slight smile.

"As if I'd throw them away."

She took them off him and placed them back on the shelf.

His eyed lingered on them for a second until she shut the cupboard, and turned back towards the living room. He followed her down the hall. "Do you ever wear them?" he asked, before he could stop himself.

"Oh way to be inappropriate Luke," she said, as she made her way through into the kitchen.

He chuckled, sensing she wasn't really mad. "Sorry."

She flicked a switch on the kettle and got a mug out of a cupboard, then she turned to him and looked at him piercingly for a second before smirking and shaking her head. "No, I don't," she said. "Haven't done for years."

* * *

"I'm not hungry," Amy said, as she stirred her lucky charm cereal round in her bowl. 

"Hun, you've gotta eat," Brooke said, coming over to her. Lucas looked up from the newspaper. "I thought Lucky Charms were you're favourite? You're nto even going to eat the marshmallows?"

"They've gone soggy."

"The marshmallows don't go soggy," Brooke said, "only the cereal." She reached into the bowl and plucked out a purple charm, popping it in her mouth. "See? Yummy."

"Well the cereals soggy."

"That's why you shouldn't play with your food," Lucas said, "You've got to eat it up straight away."

Amy just sighed and dropped her spoon in the bowl.

"How about some toast?" Brooke suggested, seeing they weren't going to get anywhere with the cereal.

"Do we have chocolate spread?"

"We just might…" Brooke went to look in one of the cupboards, popping a piece of toast in the toaster on her way.

"I'm only eating it if we have chocolate spread!" Amy called, seeing the toast go in.

"Well I'm sure you're dad will force it down him if you don't," Brooke replied. "But he won't have to," she continued as she turned, placing a jar of chocolate spread on the counter.

"Okay," Amy nodded.

The toast popped up a minute later and Amy spread it herself, so she could get the ratio of chocolate to bread just right (she aimed for around 3:1, and Brooke constantly tried to reverse it).

When she was done eating Lucas glanced up at her and chuckle, reaching out to wipe a smudge of chocolate of her cheek. He left his hand there, his thumb brushing her dimple.

He casually lifted his other hand to Brooke's cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He felt her flinch slightly, and her eyes darted to his before he looked back at his daughter.

"You look more alike every day," he said, looping a lock of Amy's brown hair between his fingers.

Amy smiled, and Lucas smiled back at her, before his eyes flickered back to Brooke. Her lips were drawn into a slight smile as he slowly drew his hand away, his thumb grazing her cheek.

There was silence for a second and then Brooke stood up with an intake of breath. "Okay, I gotta go to work."

Lucas nodded. "Right, yeah."

Amy glanced between her parents and then slid of her chair, heading into the living room to turn on the TV.

Brooke looked to Lucas. "Um, so…I'll see you this evening?"

"Yeah…I think I'll come back for lunch as well, I should have time between practice today."

"Okay, well, you're mom will be here. I've got a 1.30 meeting so I don't think I can make it back."

"Okay. And um…I think I'll er, stay at my apartment tomorrow. It's been a few days and I should…get back."

Brooke nodded quickly. "Okay. I mean you're welcome to stay…but, I get that you have to…er, go back."

"Yeah, well, I'd love to stay, but, you know…work and…"

"Yeah, of course. Okay, well…I'll see you tonight."

Lucas nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. "See you tonight."

Brooke hesitated a second and then turned and went out of the kitchen.

Lucas watched her go and then remained standing in the room. He was glad that little awkwardness was over with. It was weird, they got on so well together, until they had to talk about the outer world.

He'd told himself three days; he'd stay three days. Tonight would be night 4. So it was time to go.

* * *

"Brooke said you were going back tomorrow?" Karen said, as she and Lucas cleared away the lunch plates. 

Lucas nodded. "Uh huh."

"Are you ready? To leave Amy and everything?"

"I need to get back to a normal routine, now I'm back at practice and everything. And anyway, this was just for a few days, it's not like I'm going miles away now, I'm just a few blocks."

Karen nodded slowly. "Uh huh…"

Lucas glanced at her, but didn't say anything.

"And Brooke?" Karen asked.

"What about Brooke?"

"Do you think she'll be okay on her own?"

"She's been fine for the past few _years_." He saw his mom about to make an objection and cut in, "I know everything's been difficult with the accident, but we're through it now. We have to get back to normal."

Karen didn't say anything, but gave a slight nod.

"And anyway, you'll be here with her for a couple more days, and then Amy goes back to school."

"Okay," Karen said, "Realising it was pointless to try and get him to talk about anything properly. But…this accident's been difficult like you said, but don't let the unusual situation blind you…just…give yourself time to think through things, okay?"

Lucas gave her a look and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, okay."

* * *

Lucas sat on the edge of Amy's bed, a hand on her arm as she went to sleep. He watched the shadows from the blinds dance across her face as the moon moved from behind a cloud. 

She really did look more like Brooke than ever.

There was a noise at the door and Lucas looked up to see Brooke herself, an NYU sweater on over her pyjamas. Her hair was swept over one shoulder, the shorter tendrils at the front falling near her face. She gave him a beautiful smile.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey."

He gave Amy's arm a very light squeeze and stood up, watching her to make sure she didn't stir. He made his way over to Brooke and she pulled the door behind him, smiling over more at Amy before she closed it. She turned to Lucas in the hallway.

"I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie." She shrugged. "I wanna unwind."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Does my mom want to watch."

"I think she's gone to bed."

Lucas nodded again. "Okay, well I guess we get to choose the movie then."

Brooke smiled and they made their way to the living room.

* * *

Lucas heard a sniff and looked over at Brooke in the dim light from the TV. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and he saw the light reflected from tears glistening on her cheeks. 

"Hey, Brooke. C'mere." He reached out a hand for her and she looked over at him, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"I'm fine, it's just the movie."

"I know. Come here," he repeated, still holding out his hand. She sniffed again and crawled along the couch to him, his arm drawing her into his lap. She hadn't really meant to end up so close to him, but once his arms were wrapped firmly round her she wouldn't dream of moving. She felt wonderfully safe and secure.

He brushed away her tears with his thumb, leaving his hand against her hair as she sat sideways across him with his arms round her, one of her small hands holding his elbow tightly.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "You know how I get with movies, and anything with dark haired little girls just sets me off…"

He chuckled and nodded. "It's okay, I know where you're coming from."

They carried on watching, Brooke surreptitiously wiping away a tear every now and again. Lucas found himself watching her, his eyes drawn to her. He couldn't help thinking about all the times she cried, when he wasn't here.

He wrapped his arms round her a little tighter.

_Hope you liked it! Please review. I'll really try and be quicker with the next one, and once again, I'm sorry for the wait._


	18. Still Feels Wrong

_Hey guys! I'm going to go straight into the chapter (pausing very briefly as always to say a big Thank you for all your lovely reviews!) with just a warning that this hasn't been checked very well – it's really late and I'm going away tomorrow morning but I really wanted to get this up for you tonight. I might put up a revised (maybe even extended!) edition when I get back. But hope it's good enough for now!_

Brooke glanced at the phone on her desk as it suddenly started ringing, looked back at her computer screen, annoyed at being interrupted, but, after a moment's hesitation, reached out and picked up the phone. It was her private line after all, so only a few people had the number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Brooke."

Her annoyance evaporated. "Hey Luke, what's up?"

"Um, okay. I spoke to Toby the other day - "

"Uh huh."

"And he mentioned the Winter Ball. I haven't been for a few years – I haven't really been to any of those things recently - but his aunt's still on the committee and I thought it might be fun…anyway, he er, got me a couple of tickets but Emma's not going to be able to make it…I'm sure you're going already, you've probably got a date and stuff lined up, but I was just wondering, if not…maybe you'd like to go with me? If it's not too…If that would be okay." He trailed off and Brooke couldn't help but smile.

"Uh yeah, that would be okay. I haven't actually got tickets yet; I haven't been to any benefits or anything recently either, just a few fashion shows. But yeah, it would be fun."

"Yeah? Okay well, cool. Well I'll uh, see you soon, but…cool."

Brooke smiled to herself. "Bye Luke."

She hung up the phone with a bemused smile. He's sounded funny, almost like a teenager asking a girl out for the first time. It was weird how some things were so comfortable between them – she felt safer with him than with anyone – but some things were still so awkward.

* * *

Lucas dug his hands in his pockets as he stood outside Brooke's door, resisting the urge to fiddle with his bowtie. He never got used to those things. 

A few moments later the door opened and he was met with the sight of Brooke, her hair swept over one shoulder, looking stunning in a dark red dress.

He was taken aback for a second. "Uh, wow. I mean, hi."

She hesitated. "Thanks," she said with a little laugh, "Uh, I've just gotta get my purse."

He nodded, watching her as she turned back into the apartment and went to pick up a matching purse.

"So where's Ames?" he asked as she returned and they stepped out into the hall.

"I dropped her off at Hales' this afternoon. She was dying to come to the ball so I had to tell her it would be really boring."

Lucas chuckled. "Did she believe you?"

"No! Not for a second. So I also had to promise we'd take her when she'd older."

Lucas nodded, smiling. "Okay."

They made their way down to the street in the elevator and got into the car Lucas had waiting: he'd got one of the team's drivers for the night.

"No fancy car this time?" Brooke joked, as they got in.

He chuckled. "Sorry, just a plain old BMW. Toby arranged the Bentley last time."

"I knew it! It was way too thoughtful for you."

"Hey! I was good at that stuff too."

She shrugged, conceding, but not wanting to delve too far into all those memories.

"I thought you might wear the green dress," Lucas said after a moment.

"Which? – oh, yeah, that one. Well I already wore it for your birthday. I figured I'd return to my roots, though this isn't exactly the bright red I used to go for." She glanced at him and smiled. "You couldn't tell maroon from mauve though so I don't know why I'm telling you this!"

He shrugged. "Well I think you look beautiful; that's all that matters, right?"

She smiled and nodded. Then she reached out and lightly touched his bowtie, straightening it. "You look good too."

* * *

"Lucas Scott!" 

Lucas turned and smiled as he saw amidst the crowd in the ballroom the old lady who was addressing him. It was the Toby's aunt, an aging socialite who he had met a number of times since through his friendship with Toby since college.

"Mrs Harling, it's so good to see you," he said as he kissed her cheek. "It's been years!"

"I know my dear, where have you been all this time? Of course, I catch the occasional glimpse of you when my husband insists on having ESPN on, but you've hardly set foot on the social scene these past few years! Although…" a glint came into her eye. "I heard something a little while ago about you and a certain Ms Davis looking rather… 'close' at the Ealing House Benefit in April…"

Lucas smiled bashfully. "Well you know society gossip, if you believe everything you hear…"

"Well I'd rather like to believe that titbit. You know I was heartbroken when I heard about your split."

Lucas looked down, his smiled gone.

"And it seems I wasn't the only one?"

"It was a difficult time," Lucas said calmly, "But things are much better now."

"Better as in… fixed?"

He chuckled at her eager prying. "We're on good terms, but we're still separated. She's here this evening, I'm sure she'd love to see you," he added, to avoid more questions.

"Oh is she?" Mrs Harling immediately looked around, and her eyes suddenly settled on Brooke. She was silent for a second and smiled. "But of course she is," she said quietly.

"It's a wonder I didn't spot her before," she said, turning to Lucas. "Always the most beautiful girl in the room – or woman, I suppose." She sighed and shook her head at Lucas. "Do you remember what I told you Lucas, that first night I met you both?"

Lucas' eyes flitted to the older woman and then back to Brooke.

'_Hold on to that one.'_

He cleared his throat. "I'm a afraid I don't."

Mrs Harling kept her eyes on his as he watched Brooke. She reached out a hand and clasped his arm. "She's still there, dear," she said quietly. "You haven't lost her…not yet."

She smiled a small smile when Lucas looked at her. "Lovely to see you," she said, and then moved off into the crowd.

Lucas' eyes followed her for a minute and then involuntarily swung back to Brooke.

_Always the most beautiful woman in the room.

* * *

_

Brooke smiled as she watched Amy run around Lucas' living room, grabbing items of Barbie clothing off the floor. It was Sunday night and she'd come to collect her because Lucas had a game the next day and had to be up early, so wouldn't be able to take her to school. It was nice to be back to the normal rhythm of life, although as Brooke had anticipated it had been a little odd to return to their old routine of passing Amy between them after spending so much time altogether.

Lucas into the living room holding Amy's bag. "Okay Ames, put all that stuff in here," he said, handing it to her.

Amy took it and began neatly folding all the Barbie clothes and sliding them into the front pocket.

Brooke tipped her head on one side and then looked up at Lucas. "Where does she get the neat-freak streak from? Cause that is nothing to do with me. And I remember your old room."

Lucas chuckled. "Must be my mom. Maybe it skips a generation."

"Yeah. Although, she doesn't lavish quite so much time on keeping her own clothes tidy."

Amy looked up and scowled. "I can hear you you know."

Brooke smiled. "You can't deny it Ames."

"Barbie's clothes are prettier than mine, so they deserve to be treated better."

Lucas laughed out loud. "Amy you have ridiculously nice clothes for a seven year old. Thanks to someone…"

"Hey! She looks nice in them," Brooke said.

"I don't have a top like this!" Amy said, holding up her Barbie, who was dressed in a sparkly blue halter top.

"That's because you don't have any tops which stop anywhere near the region of your belly button," Brooke said. "And also, that top's…a little hideous."

Amy frowned again, pulling a face at her mom.

Brooke chuckled. "Sorry sweetie; it looks good on Barbie though." She caught Lucas' eye over Amy's head and rolled her eyes. "Are you ready now?" she asked, turning to Amy again.

"I've just gotta find my shoes," she said, looking around her. She promptly dropped her bag and ran out of the room.

Lucas looked after her and then shook his head.

"Oh while we're waiting, I've been meaning to ask you about your Thanksgiving plans this year," Brooke said, suddenly remembering.

Lucas turned to her quickly, his mouth slightly open. "Oh…yeah. Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that too. Um, Emma wanted us to go to her family's this year."

Brooke opened her mouth and gave a slow nod. "Oh…right. Okay well - "

"I mean it's just…well I've never been before and…they'd love to see Amy of course, but I understand if you'd rather have her with you…"

Brooke pressed her lips together for a second. The thought of not having Lucas _or_ Amy with her after what they'd been through the past month was a little much.

"It would probably be better if she was with you though," Lucas said; he knew it was unfair to ask Brooke if Amy could come to with. She'd never refuse, but that didn't mean she'd like it. "Then she can see Nathan and Haley and everyone too."

"Yeah…I mean, if that's okay with you."

Lucas nodded.

"She'll be disappointed you won't be there." Brooke couldn't help saying it.

Lucas looked down. "I know…I'd love to really, I just – I haven't - "

"Yeah, no, it's fine. You should go with Emma."

Lucas nodded again. He couldn't explain that what with the accident and everything he'd spent so little time with Emma recently that he'd felt he couldn't refuse when she'd asked him if he could go.

"Do you want me to tell her?" Brooke asked.

Lucas hesitated. "No. No, I'll tell her."

"Okay…well maybe next weekend. She's not even thinking about Thanksgiving yet."

Lucas nodded. "Okay." He saw Brooke look past his shoulder suddenly and turned to see Amy coming back into the room, her sneakers now on and a book in her hand. "I want to take this into school," she said, holding the book up.

"Okay," Brooke said, "Just don't forget to bring it back next weekend otherwise you won't know where it is next time."

Amy nodded. They all made their way to the door, and Lucas lifted Amy into his arms to give her a kiss goodbye. He held her little head as he kissed her cheek, and then set her down again when she'd said goodbye.

Brooke gave him a brief smile, and set a hand on his arm as she said, "Bye Luke."

"Bye - "

She seemed to be gone all too quickly, and suddenly the door was shut and he was left with that horrible feeling he knew all too well: that he'd just seriously pissed off Brooke Davis.

* * *

As usual when it was mid-season the weeks flew by quickly for Lucas and before he knew it he was getting his old red convertible out of the multi-storey carpark where it sat for most of the year and starting the long drive down to Maryland where Emma's parents lived. 

He was feeling pretty good: she was in a good mood, they had some music on, and it was a crisp November morning. But even so, he couldn't quite get rid of the feeling that the further he got from New York, the further he was from where he really wanted to be.

With each mile he recalled more memories of Amy on Thanksgiving – at his mom's, at Nathan and Haley's, the year before last even at Brooke's own apartment. Thanksgiving had always been a day they spent together. Even when he and Brooke had barely been speaking to each other the others had gathered everyone at someone's home for dinner and made sure Brooke and Lucas could both be with Amy without dealing with each other.

He had almost changed his mind about going a couple of weeks ago when he'd had to tell Amy. She'd taken it pretty well but he couldn't stand upsetting her even a little, and when he'd seen Brooke later that day to drop Amy off he almost told her he was going to stay after all.

It reminded him of when he was younger and he'd do ridiculous things just to make Brooke smile. He'd always been bad at remembering though that to make her happy he just had to be there for her.

There was something oddly familiar with what he was doing right now actually…it was like when he used to _have _to take care of everyone – look out for Peyton, and Hales, and Nathan, and his mom – when sometimes he really should have just stopped and put Brooke first.

But it was different now, he realised. Maybe he'd been wrong then when Brooke had been his girlfriend, but Emma was now, so surely he was doing the right thing by putting her first?

But it still felt wrong.

* * *

After Thanksgiving dinner the whole group that had assembled at Emma's parents house – including her older brother and sister and their families - assembled in the living room and sat round on the couches drinking coffee. Emma's nephews began setting out Lego all over the floor, and Lucas felt a little pang of regret as he watched the boys play. He gently touched Emma's shoulder; she looked round at him. 

"I'm just going to call Amy," he said, and she nodded, smiling at him, before turning back to continue talking to her brother.

He rose slowly and slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him before he headed for the phone in the hall. He dialled Brooke's number, and waited, a smile growing on his face as it rang.

"Hello?"

He could hear voices in the back ground on the other end.

"Hey Brooke, it's Luke."

"Oh hey! How's it going?"

"It's good. We, er, had a nice dinner. I was just calling to say hi to Ames."

"Yeah, of course, I'll just get her."

"Thanks," he said, as he heard Brooke's voice calling on the other end 'Ames, it's your Dad on the phone!'.

"She's right here," Brooke said, before she passed the phone over, and Lucas heard Amy's excited voice: "Hey daddy!"

"Hey baby girl, Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Have you eaten?"

"Yup, we just finished. How was your meal?"

"It was really yummy. Aunt Haley made a really yummy turkey, and Mommy ordered an _amazing_ pumpkin pie."

Lucas chuckled. "She didn't try and make it herself then?"

"Well she thought about it, but I said we shouldn't risk food poisoning on Thanksgiving – I mean, any other day, I'd let her, and you know I risk my life every day really – but I thought we shouldn't bring down the whole family on Thanksgiving."

Lucas laughed again. "We really should stop teasing your Mom about her cooking Ames, it's gotten a lot better since you were young."

"Hmm…" Amy sounded unconvinced.

"Seriously, there was a time when she couldn't put something in the oven without burning it. She's pretty damn good with a take-out menu though. I think that's her specialty."

Amy giggled. "You have to persuade her to let us get take-out more then."

"I'll see what I can do," Lucas said with a smile. He suddenly heard the door of the living room open and looked up. Emma was hovering uncertainly.

He held up a finger and nodded to her. "Listen Ames, I've gotta go, but can you just put your mom back on for one second?"

"Yeah sure. Mom!" She called out into the rest of the room. From the corner of his eye Lucas saw Emma slip back into the living room.

"Thanks kiddo. And I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yup, see you then. Mom's right here."

"Okay, bye baby, I love you."

"Love you too Daddy."

The phone was passed over and Lucas heard Brooke's voice again. "Hey Luke."

"Hey. I just wanted to check about picking Ames up tomorrow."

"Sure, okay. If you call me when you get back into Manhattan, I'll get her ready."

"And it's okay if I have her for the weekend?"

"Yeah, of course. Like we said."

"Okay, thanks. And…Happy Thanksgiving Brooke."

He could picture her smiling on the other end. "Thanks. You too Lucas."

They said goodbye and he put down the phone. He realised that was all he had really wanted to say; he had asked for her back on the phone – he had called in the first place - because he's just wanted to say 'Happy Thanksgiving'…just to show he was thinking of her.

* * *

Lucas slipped of his jacket and headed into his living room, unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt as he walked and rolling up his sleeves. He'd just got back from dropping Amy back at Brooke's; it was Sunday night. 

Emma looked up from the couch as he passed through to the bedroom.

"Hey."

He turned back and gave her a brief smile. "Hey."

He continued on to the bedroom, taking off his shirt and throwing it on the bed.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror by the wardrobe; his face was downcast. If Brooke could see him now she'd make a crack about his brooding, he was sure.

He pulled a fresh T-shirt over his head and retuned to the thoughts that had been circling on and off all weekend. About the feeling he'd had in the car on the way down to Maryland; the feeling that he was wrong again.

He looked around the room, taking in the pale yellow cushions on the bed, the perfume bottles on the dresser, the robe on the back of the door.

It was odd, he thought, for some reason he'd thought there was something purple in there. He always imagined bedrooms having purple…

At first he'd put his broodiness over Thanksgiving down to not being at home, but now, he was back, life was going on again….

But this didn't feel like home. It never had.

The thought that had been floating surreptitiously at the back of his mind solidified.

* * *

Late on Sunday evening Lucas rose from the bed where he'd been lying with his eyes shut and headed towards the living room. 

He'd had a shower, watched some TV, and tried to sleep. But he knew there was something he had to do, and his mind wasn't going to let up till he saw it through.

He paused in the doorway of the living room and watched Emma for a moment. She turned a page of the magazine she was reading. He hesitated.

"Emma?"

She looked round, he didn't move from the door, and somehow in her eyes it was as if she already knew what he was about to say.

He took a few steps into the room, and she stood up, turning to him fully.

"I need to…we need to talk, about us," he said finally, and she looked down.

"Yeah, I've, uh, been thinking the same thing."

"Things have been difficult recently, with Amy's accident and everything. But I think that's not really the problem. We've always…been pretty low-key about our relationship. But we've never really moved forwards…and I think we're both at a stage now where we should be wanting to…to move forward." He trailed off, and dragged a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry I don't know if I'm making any sense here."

Emma gave a half smile. "It's okay…I know what you're trying to say."

He gave a small nod. "I think it's time we ended this."

She nodded too. "Yeah, I agree."

"You should be with someone who wants to get married, and start a family…who's completely in love with you, because you deserve that."

"Yeah…I guess I do."

"I care about you so much Emma – I love you – but…"

"You were never _in love_ with me."

Lucas hesitated and then slowly shook his head.

"And I think I never really fell in love with you either…I never let myself. Because I always knew you were in love with someone else."

Lucas looked up into her eyes, and Emma gave him a small smile. "You deserve all those things too Lucas."

* * *

Lucas dug a hand in his pocket as he stepped out of Starbucks holding a cup of coffee. 

He had just left his apartment twenty minutes ago, with a bag over his shoulder. Emma had said she would go and stay with her younger sister who lived in the West village while they sorted out who would get the apartment and everything. Lucas hadn't wanted to stand around while she packed.

In the end their parting hadn't been too bad. She hugged him, and told him it wasn't his fault. He said he was sorry.

And he was, he thought, as he stood on the street sipping his coffee. He was sorry he'd hurt her, and sorry he was putting her through all this trouble now. But he couldn't say he was sorry it was over. They had definitely had some good times, and he had liked being with someone…but ultimately he wasn't in love with her, and at the end of the day she wasn't who he wanted to go home to.

And if he was really honest with himself, he knew who that person really was.

He looked at his watch. He was near her apartment, he could go there now and…and what? Amy would be there. What would he do? What did he want to do?

He closed his eyes for a second; he had to make sure he didn't do anything stupid, he needed to get his head straight.

He hailed a cab, and headed downtown.

* * *

"So what happens now?" Haley asked, as she took another sip of her tea. It was past midnight but she and Lucas were sitting up in her kitchen. Nathan and the kids were all in bed. 

Lucas shrugged. "We're going to talk about the apartment…I'm fine with letting her keep it, we were just splitting rent so I can find somewhere else. And then…I don't know."

Haley smiled. "How do you feel?"

Lucas hesitated. "Good…I mean…not really good, it's been a pretty crappy day but…I don't know…it was the right thing to do."

Haley nodded. "Yeah it was. You know she wasn't quite right for you Luke."

Lucas chuckled. "So now it all comes out!"

"No! No, she was lovely…but really Luke, we all now there's someone else who really - "

"Hales," Lucas interrupted. "I'm not ready to…to think about that yet."

Haley looked as if she wanted to object but then shut her mouth. "Okay. Well, when you want to talk about her, I'm here, okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Thanks."

He felt his stomach suddenly flip. It was real again, it was a possibility…even after he'd left the apartment he'd shared with Emma, even during all the moments in the last year when he'd been with _her - _caught her smile, felt her fingers on his arm - he'd never really let himself believe it.

That he might still have his future with Brooke.

_Please review! Hope you guys enjoyed it, we're getting serious now (finally! I know you guys are getting antsy!) Should be a great chapter next time, I'll try and write it quite soon, especcially if I'm suitably persuaded..._


	19. Possibility

_**I am so sorry** for keeping you all waiting. It's been a ridiculously long time since I last updated, so I won't waste any more time with excuses! Just assume I…was temporarily abducted by aliens. But now I'm back, unharmed, just a little probed, and I've had lots of time to plan chapters!_

_Just one very quick but VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Since I started writing 'Beginning of Always' and this before the third series of OTH, I hadn't taken into account Keith's death, and he appears after he technically should have died. It would become influential in this chapter (you'll see), and I agonised about it but I decided I'm not going to change facts in the history of the story now – so, basically, Keith didn't die in the shooting._

_Okay, finally, the story continues…_

Lucas left Haley's early. He saw Nathan in the morning while he was in the kitchen being force-fed toast - there was no way Haley was going to let him go off to training on an empty stomach - and told him about Emma. Lucas couldn't help noticing that Nathan and Haley kept exchanging looks as he told him; clearly they wanted to say more than they were, but he was grateful that they were staying silent for the moment. He didn't need anyone to start talking about Brooke just yet.

So he headed off to training, sure that weights and sprints would pound every thought out of his head, and he could get a break from the sudden expanse of decisions that now lay before him.

* * *

"Hey man, what's going on with you today?" Mike asked Lucas, as he missed his fourth shot of the practice. "You weren't even being marked on that one!" 

Lucas rubbed his hands over his eyes. "I'm a little distracted."

"Well get your head in the game, man! Beating your ass ain't no fun if you're not even trying."

Lucas chuckled. "Sorry."

"So what's got you so distracted?" Mike asked, as he took the ball back and went back to the centre circle to start another one-on-one.

Lucas stayed on him as he began to dribble to the net, following his feet and reaching a hand in in the split second the ball bounced a few inches out of Mike's reach.

"I broke up with Emma," he replied, as he flicked the ball away to make a perfect steal, turned, and shot a three-pointer through the basket.

He turned to see Mike standing with his eyebrows raised. "Well you don't seem to have too much of a problem with that. Nice steal."

Lucas shrugged. "And I'm…kind of thinking about…giving it another try with Brooke," he added, turning away and picked up the ball that had bounced back towards him, before firing it at the basket again.

It hid the edge with a loud thud, and bounced back. Mike dodged round him and scooped it up. "So that's the problem," he said, turning to Lucas with the ball tucked under his arm.

Lucas looked at the net and gave a slow nod. "Yup. I guess that's it."

* * *

Brooke nodded at the receptionist at the front desk as she headed out of her office-building to get some lunch. Often she found herself working through her lunch-break, and sending an assisant out to get something for her, but today she wanted to get some fresh air. Even if it was like 20 degrees outside. 

She wrapped her coat further round herself as she stepped off the kerb, heading for the deli across the street. As she approached it, she saw a familiar figure push himself off the door frame and come to meet her.

"Lucas!? Hey, what's up?"

He smiled at her, digging his hands into his pockets.

_What the hell am I doing?_ It had seemed perfectly simple, Lucas thought, as he stood facing Brooke in the middle of a busy 5th Avenue pavement. He'd just go and talk to Brooke, tell her about Emma, have a chat, see where she stood on the whole getting back together idea.

What had he been thinking?! Of course it seemed simple when he was talking to Mike about it, but now he was standing here, facing Brooke, and he realised that there was no way he could wade through five years of crap between them in her twenty minute lunch break. And there was no way he was feeling emotionally ready to talk to Brooke, _Brooke_, about his feelings. No way.

"Um…how's your day been?"

Brooke hesitated a second, still surprised to see him. "Uh…good. What are you doing here?"

"Oh…I was just…around – here - and…" he trailed off and sighed. "I er, wanted to talk to you about something, and I thought I should tell you before I told Amy."

Brooke nodded slowly. "Okay, well let's get something to eat and talk." She placed a hand on his arm and turned him, and they made their way to a café on the numbered street that turned off the busy avenue.

"So what is it?" Brooke asked, as they sat down at a little table inside.

"I, er…I broke up with Emma," Lucas said, figuring he might as well come straight out with it.

"Oh! Oh, right." Brooke was surprised by the effect this news seemed to have on her; it was like a wave of relief. She realised Lucas wasn't going to say anything else. "Um…wh– when?" She had been going to ask him why, but suddenly htought that might be inappropriate.

"Yesterday."

"Oh. wow. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just thought - we both agreed that…well, I guess we don't need to go into how it happened."

Brooke nodded once. An awkward silence descended on the table.

"I suppose you have to get back to work."

"Uh, yeah. Yeah I do."

They stood up, and Brooke placed a hand on his elbow, curling her fingers round his arm. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" she asked.

He gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I've just got some…stuff to figure out."

"Okay." She paused, thinking for a moment, then mentally shook herself. "Well whenever you want to tell Amy just come over, okay?"

He nodded.

She hesitated, her hand still on his arm. "Thank you for telling me," she said finally.

He nodded again, managing a small smile, and then she was gone.

* * *

Lucas hung his towel around his neck as he came out of the team's locker room. Early morning practices were tough, but at least he had the afternoon free now before the benefit that evening. He was kind of looking forward to it - his sponsors wanted him to go but he was happy to - Brooke would be there so they could have fun together. 

Assuming he didn't bring up his break-up with Emma and cast them back into the abyss of broken sentences of course.

He was confident that it would be okay though; he had been round the other day to tell Amy, and he and Brooke had chatted about a movie they'd both been to see – separately of course – and it was fine. He wasn't sure why it had been so awkward the other day, maybe she had just sensed he was uncomfortable. Or maybe he had been naïve to think that talking about his past relationship would be as easy for them as talking about the latest Woody Allen movie.

He rubbed his eyes, his mental fatigue at turning it all endlessly over in his mind exacerbating his tiredness after the work-out.

He headed towards the exit, taking his cell phone out of his bag he checked the screen, and frowned. 2 missed calls from Brooke. She rarely called his cell.

Flipping it open, he dialled her number.

"Hey Lucas."

She sounded hesitant.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" he asked quickly, realising she'd be at work, "I had a couple of missed calls."

"Yeah, sorry, I guess you were at practice. It's um…it's nothing I'm fine, just…have you seen the news today?"

"No, has something happened?" Amy immediately jumped to his mind, and he pushed the door a little harder than necessary to get into the carpark.

"There was a shooting. At a school North Carolina."

Lucas felt his throat go dry, but despite himself relief flooded through him. He opened his car door and sat down. "Was it a kid?"

"Yeah. He was…15. They're saying he was kind of a loner, he'd had a hard time with his parents, he was bullied…"

Lucas dropped his head. "Where was the school?" he asked quietly.

"Near Charlotte. It wasn't one I'd heard of, I don't think we've ever been there or anything. It just…"

"Brings it all back."

"Yeah. I'm sorry to tell you," Brooke said quickly, "But - "

"I would have heard anyway."

"Yeah…"

"What are you doing right now?" Lucas asked suddenly.

"I'm at work…I've got a meeting in ten minutes."

"Oh. Well are you still going to go to the benefit this evening?"

"I think I have to. And I mean…it's not really a reason not to go, it doesn't really have anything to do with us."

"Brooke they won't mind if you want to stay at home. You can say you're sick or something - "

"I'm fine, really. I was just…a little shocked this morning, but I didn't want to talk to anyone about it who wouldn't…understand."

Lucas nodded, even though she couldn't see him.

"I'll see you this evening," Brooke said, and Lucas hardly had time to say goodbye before she'd hung up.

He leant back in his seat, and closed his eyes. He could see it all like yesterday. That moment where he ran back into the school; he just left Brooke, standing there. He didn't know how he could have done it. Not stopped, held her, said 'I love you'…anything.

He knew it was normal really: when Keith ran back in the adrenalin took over and he didn't stop to think, he had to go after him. But now…it would take a herd of elephants to drag him away from Brooke in a situation like that again.

He remembered when he'd come back out, and seen her. And even though he'd known she would be there, it was still such a relief. He reached her and she wrapped her arms round him, and he stood holding her and he felt like…if he could just close his eyes, then everything else would disappear. And it would just be the two of them. And it would all be okay.

* * *

"Did you see that awful story in the paper today? I can't believe it happened again." 

Brooke swallowed and felt her shoulders tense. After she'd got home and changed she'd felt much better, and even felt a little silly for calling Lucas. But she really didn't want to discuss the shooting with a bunch of strangers at a party like any other news story.

"Oh the boy in Charlotte?" The other man shook his head. "Terrible isn't it. Well, you know the only way it's ever going to stop is with tougher gun laws."

The first man glanced at Brooke and she took a sip of her drink, realising she needed to say something. "It's very sad," she said quietly. "I heard he was quite young."

"Not even sixteen. This one didn't shoot himself, just half his classmates.

"Yup. And he's too young to even go to prison for it."

Brooke was trying to think of a way to excuse herself when she felt hands on either side of her waste. She recognised the feel of Lucas' body against her back, and relaxed slightly. He stood a little to one side of her, and greeted the other men with a small smile and a nod, but he kept a protective hand on Brooke's back.

"This is Dave Crawford and Tyler Johnson," Brooke said, indicating them both; social formalities were an easy way to gloss over a brief silence. "They work for Merrill Lynch. And…this is my ex-husband, Lucas Scott."

Lucas winced slightly at the title.

"Yes of course," Tyler said, "I'm a big Knicks fan Mr Scott."

Lucas forced a smile. "Glad to hear it." He shook both their hands.

"We were just talking about the awful case down in North Carolina today. I've got to say, at least every time there's one of these shootings there's a chance it might force Congress into action."

Lucas slipped his right hand into his pocket and looked down, his other hand tightening on Brooke's hip.

"Not with this Congress though, don't you think?" Tyler asked, looking to Lucas.

He cleared his throat. "No. Probably not." He hesitated then said, "Would you excuse us for a minute," and began to steer Brooke away even as Dave nodded and turned to continue the conversation with Tyler. He however was watching the other two head for the other side of the room.

"Have you ever been with her?" he asked after a minute, politics and current affairs forgotten at the chance to discuss a pretty girl.

"Brooke Davis? No. She dated Ashcroft - you know from marketing - a few years ago, but only briefly. Gorgeous, isn't she?"

"Yeah. I suppose that's how she ended up with an NBA player."

"Oh yeah. She used to be a model or something; they met on the minor celebrity circuit."

Tyler nodded slowly. "Oh, I guess that explains it. Those matches are always on-off aren't they?" He indicated over to where Brooke and Lucas stood talking intensely, their bodies angled away from the rest of the room.

Brooke seethed quietly where she stood with Lucas. "I just can't stand how they talk about it that way. Four kids died today and they're talking about the politics of it?!"

Lucas laid a hand on Brooke's elbow, soothing her. "I know, but for most people it feels very distant."

Brooke shook her head. "I know. And I mean, I agree with them; as far as I'm concerned the sooner the government can sort out the law and preferably get ride of guns completely the better. But it's just…it just happened. And I keep thinking about that boy, who did it. They were saying it was a pity he probably wouldn't get slapped in jail for life, but he needs help. I mean imagine if Jimmy hadn't…if he hadn't shot himself. People would be talking about him like that. Like some evil…" she trailed of, shaking her head. "I don't even know what I think."

Lucas rubbed her arm. "Don't think about it. Come on, let's go. You've put in enough face time here, right?"

Brooke nodded. "But you can stay, if you want, I can get a cab."

Lucas shook his head. "No way, I want to get out of here."

Brooke gave him a smile, and he returned it, guiding her towards the cloakroom.

* * *

Lucas watched Brooke from the entrance of her kitchen as she stood at the cooker, turning up the heat under the pan of milk. He'd been to look in on Amy, who was sleeping in her room, and pay Alex for babysitting her, and now he stood leaning against the doorway. He knew she wasn't aware of his presence, and he was wondering how long he could just stand and watch her before she realised he was there. 

He hardly ever got to see Brooke at home; it was funny, even in the past year when they'd spent a relatively large amount of time together, it felt different to be alone in an apartment together like this, doing 'normal' things. Things a couple would do.

He wanted to go up to her, but something held him back for a moment. Now that he was starting to feel differently about her, it was as if all his actions took on a new meaning. Whereas last month for example he would not have thought twice about kissing her cheek when he greeted her, or hugging her to say goodbye – except perhaps to enjoy the moment – now even being in her presence he felt a frisson of tension.

He wasn't sure where the line was anymore. Could he touch her, hold her, like he wanted to? Would that be too far or would it seem okay to her; a normal part of the close relationship they shared?

He could have hesitated all night, but then he thought back over all the years he had been with, and not been with, Brooke. He remembered those times in high school when they'd been on 'breaks', or their increasingly intimate interactions over the past year. It seemed they could never push it too far.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and went over to her, the slight turn of her head signalling the fact she had noticed his presence. He caught sight of the edge of a small smile on her lips.

He placed his hands on her upper arms, rubbing them slowly up and down as he stood behind her, leaning his chin against her hair. He felt her physically relax against him: her shoulders fell and she leant back slightly, her weight on him.

She stuck her little finger in the milk and took it out quickly, shaking it. She turned off the heat and left the pan to simmer quietly as she suddenly turned around, pressing her face into his shirt and wrapping her arms round him. He was startled for a moment, but then he moved one hand down her back and with the other held her head, his thumb moving over her hair.

"Thank you for staying," she whispered, and the movement of her lips against his chest caused him to tense for a second.

He swallowed. "No problem."

* * *

"Can you still remember it all?" 

They sat on the couch, their back against either end and their legs drawn up in front of them. Lucas tipped his head on one side enquiringly.

"What happened in school, on the day of the shooting," Brooke clarified.

"Oh." He nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"I guess you don't forget something like that."

There was a moment's silence.

"I wish I'd stayed with you."

She lifted her head suddenly, and then gave him a disbelieving look. "Luke, you did the right thing. Who know what would have happened if you hadn't been there – to Keith, and Peyton."

Lucas looked down. "Well…I wish there had been somebody else, to be there for…them, for Peyton. So I could have stayed with you."

Brooke shook her head. "Lucas, you would have been first back in there whether it was Peyton or Tod Krasne from our Algebra class. That's just who you are. And I love you for that."

He smiled slightly, and she smiled back.

"Even so…" Lucas said after a minute, "I think when I was younger I was too obsessed with trying to save everyone…fix everyone. I'm done trying to be anybody's hero now."

Brooke took in his words, thinking how many times she had thought that about him. Then she smiled to herself and shrugged. "I could still do with a little saving sometimes," she said, circling her fingers round her mug.

Lucas chuckled. "Well, you're not just anybody."

* * *

Lucas drained his cup of hot chocolate and placed it on the side table, turning to Brooke. She was staring into her mug, her face pensive. He reached out a hand and rubbed her foot, drawing her eyes up to him. He gave her a soft smile. "You looked miles away." 

She smiled back. "Just contemplating."

"Your mug?"

"Wondering if I should get some more in blue."

He chuckled, and she smiled again.

"Hey…" his face took on a more serious expression, "do you want me to stay the night?"

She sighed and stood up, taking his mug. "No, it's okay. I should um…just get some sleep." She made her way to the kitchen, and he followed her, slipping his hands in his pockets.

"You can if you want though," she added, as she placed the mugs in the sink and turned around, "I mean, do you have anywhere to stay at the moment?"

"I'm kind of staying with Hales. I should probably get back there or she'll worry."

"You can call her."

He smiled. "She'd ask questions."

Brooke nodded. "Yes she would."

"And anyway, Ames will be…confused if I'm here in the morning."

"She's six Luke, I don't think she'd jump to any conclusions."

Lucas shrugged, smiling slightly. "Still."

"Yeah, okay. Well how about we do something tomorrow? You're meant to have Amy anyway so we could all…go to the park or something."

"Yeah. That'd be nice."

Brooke smiled. "Okay."

He hesitated a second and then made for the door; she followed him through the living room to the front door of the apartment. He slipped his jacket on, scrunching up the tie that had been hanging with it and stuffing it in his pocket.

Brooke chuckled and reached up and smoothed out his collar, which was crumpled and uneven.

"I don't think Hales will mind."

"But she might ask questions," Brooke retorted, with a twinkle in her eye. She smiled with him, but it faded slightly as she slid her hands down his chest. "Well…I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll call you." He placed his hand on her back and she easily came towards him, her arms wrapping round his neck. She turned her head and pressed her lips against his cheek, near his jaw. Lucas felt his heart quicken, and wrapped his arms around her more tightly. He kissed her hair and held her for a moment. "Good night Brooke. Sweet dreams."

They drew apart and she gave him a small smile. He turned and headed for the door.

"Hey Luke."

He turned back, one hand on the open door.

She hesitated a second, mouth open. She'd had a sudden surge of emotion for him, of gratitude for staying with her, sadness that he was leaving, and that yearning she sometimes got just to be close to him.

But she didn't know how she could tell him any of that.

"Goodnight."

He smiled. It was so simple he knew there had been more to come. Possibility hung deliciously in the air with the words left unspoken.

_**Please review!** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, even when it looked like there might not be another coming! Your gentle reminders keep me coming back to a chapter till I get it finished…_


	20. Something's Going On

_(I thought I'd just replace the note with this chapter – so that's why that's disappeared – if anyone missed it it was an author's note begging forgiveness from my wonderful readers for leaving them without an update for almost a year…)_

_First off thank you all so much for your reviews, it's so great to know people are still enjoying this. Also major kudos to Jennifer for her honest review – it needed to be said and I'll really try not to let you down again. _

_In that spirit - New chapter time!_

"God, it is _freezing_," Brooke exclaimed, as she wrapped her fleece-lines jacket around herself more tightly and stamped her feet.

"Well whose idea was it to go to the park on when it's been snowing?" Lucas asked, eyebrows raised. "It is December now in case you hadn't noticed."

Brooke pursed her lips at his retort. "The kids like it. But it's true, every year I am surprised by how much colder New York is that Tree Hill."

Lucas chuckled. "And that is because you never paid attention in Geography."

"_No one_ pays attention in Geography Lucas. Except future geography teachers. It's a very specialised subject that is passed down a selective and secretive line."

Lucas laughed out loud and shook his head. "Whatever you say Brooke."

Jack came up at that moment, holding out an unmittened hand. The mitten hung from a piece of string attached to his jacket and Brooke smiled at Haley's efficiency.

"I can't get it back on without taking the other one off," he said mournfully. "But then I don't know how I'd get that one back on."

"That's okay buddy," said Lucas as he knelt down and pulled it back on, "I never got the hang of mittens either."

"Mommy, look at my snow angels!" Amy cried.

Brooke lifted her gaze from Lucas and his nephew and surveyed the row of angle shapes in the snow. "They look great Ames!"

"You make one; a mommy angel."

"You Mom's jacket isn't very waterproof Ames," said Lucas, standing up, "Maybe we should wait till just before we leave so she isn't standing around in wet clothes for too long."

"Sorry Baby."

"You see she forgot New York got cold in winter," Lucas continued.

Brooke shoved him on the arm, laughing. "Shut up!" Then she stopped, turning back to Amy, "You know you could always get Daddy to make one…" she suggested, "I bet he'd love - "

She was cut off by Lucas' gloved hand over her mouth. "I think yours are beautiful on their own Baby, big ones would probably…spoil them."

Amy tossed a snowball at them both but didn't pursue it, as Jack was tugging at her arm.

"Oh I'm sorry," said Brooke, lowering her voice and turning to Lucas, "is someone else's jacket not waterproof? Is the geography-genius not quite equipped for the weather?" Her hands were on the front of his jacket, and he grabbed them as he felt her fingers begin to dig in to tickle him.

"At least I'm wearing layers," he retorted, "You don't have to be any kind of genius to figure it's cold – there's _snow_ on the ground."

"You're such an ass."

He wrapped his arms round her to stop her from accosting him, still laughing, and she shook her head, he fake-anger quickly subsiding. He kept his arms round her, rubbing her as he held her against him, while her shivering, too, subsided.

"Actually, I like this jacket," he said, his thumbs moving over the brown corduroy of her sleeve as they both watched Jack and Amy start to pull the toboggan up the hill again.

He saw the edge of her smile. Keeping one arm round her, he pulled up the fleece collar. "It reminds me of junior year of high school."

Brooke gave a dark chuckle. "Junior year sucked Lucas."

He frowned and leant his face against her hair. "It didn't all suck. Did it?"

Brooke heard the edge of genuine worry in his voice; the regret he still harboured. She remembered the times she had first stood with him like this, when the jacket had been new.

She felt his lips press against her head, as if he knew exactly what was going on inside it and was reminding her how good the good times had been. She almost laughed that she was still so beguiled by him; he touched her and she caved.

"No," she said quietly. "It didn't all suck."

* * *

"So are you sure you don't mind me staying here a little longer?" Lucas asked Haley as he buttered another slice of toast at breakfast a few days later. "It's just that I didn't really feel I could say no to Emma right now and apparently she'd already offered it to her friends." 

"It's absolutely fine Luke, no problem at all. I just have to remember to double my grocery order next time."

Lucas wrinkled his nose, his hand pausing on the way to his mouth. "Sorry."

Haley chuckled. "I'm kidding, it's fine. It's nice to have more time to hang out with you. Anyway aren't you going out of state in a couple of days.

Lucas nodded. "Yup. 4 away games."

"Exactly. Nathan and I can just eat then."

Lucas sighed and put down the toast as Haley grinned at him.

The sound of the door opening came from the hall.

"Hey honey!" Haley called.

Nathan came in the kitchen. "Hey; Hey Luke."

"Got the paper?"

"Yup. And something else…"

Haley raised her eyebrows.

"It's for Lucas," Nathan said, with an apologetic smile.

"Oh."

"But I don't think it's something you'd want anyway."

He pulled out a copy of _The National Enquirer_.

"Are you kidding? Who doesn't like gossip!?" Haley grabbed it.

"O-kay. Someone's been spending too much time with Brooke," Lucas said.

Nathan cleared his throat. "Well according to the _The National Enquirer_, it's not Hales."

Lucas gave him a confused look, and Nathan took the magazine and flipped it open to one of the middle pages with lots of small stories, before placing it before Lucas and pointing to a box in the bottom right corner.

Lucas stared at the picture. It was always a little odd to see himself in publications, but he had got used to it; it was not infrequent that his picture graced the sports pages. And every now again on the gossip pages too there might be a picture of him out with some team mates.

But this was different. He supposed it should have happened sooner really; but Brooke wasn't a model anymore and he wasn't really famous enough that people cared who he dated. And anyway, as he was constantly reminded, he wasn't dating Brooke.

You wouldn't guess it from the picture though. The two of them stood in Central Park amid the snow. He had both arms around her shoulders, hugging her from behind. In the picture she held them there with her gloved hands. Brooke was smiling; Amy and Jack had probably been acting up, but Lucas' face was more serene. The photographer had done his job well.

His eyes skimmed over the short story underneath.

_NEW SPARKS FOR SCOTT'S OLD FLAME?_

_Knicks star Lucas Scott, 27, was seen looking cosy in Central Park the other day with none other than his ex-wife, the model-turned-business executive Brooke Davis. Davis and Scott, who separated five years ago, were on a day out with their six year-old daughter and their nephew. Davis, who is now working for Ralph Lauren, also attended a charity ball with Scott last week, fanning rumours that he has ended his two-year relationship with lawyer Emma Hunter. _

Lucas looked up at Nathan and Haley, who were both looking at him with eyebrows raised.

"What?"

They raised them further.

"It's not true! Come on guys, it's in _The National Enquirer_! Isn't that enough evidence that it's totally made up!?"

"Well unless they photo-shopped the picture…" Haley began.

"It's not like we're kissing! She was…cold."

"What ball did you guys go to?" Haley asked.

"It was just that Winter ball thing; that one our friend Toby is connected with. It wasn't a big deal we just got a cab together."

Haley laughed out loud and Nathan smiled. "Look, Lucas, we're not saying you're carrying out some secret relationship behind everyone's backs - "

"Although I wouldn't be surprised…" Haley murmured, and Lucas shot her a glare.

Nathan continued: "But doesn't the fact that national news has caught on to it suggest that _something_ is going on?"

Lucas hesitated. "We've just been…hanging out a lot. That's all! You know…Carrie's been busy stepping up her company, and I'm not seeing Emma anymore, so…we have more time to see each other."

"Okay," said Haley, "Well then is there any actual valid reason why something's _not _going on?"

"What? Yes of course! Like…a million."

"Which are…?" Nathan pushed.

"We…come one guys she's my ex-wife! There's too much…Things are too…" Lucas sighed and stopped, realising he was just giving Nathan and Haley more ammunition. "I've gotta go get to practice." He stood up and opened his mouth to speak again, but saw Nathan's expression. He looked very pleased with himself.

"I'll see you guys later."

His friends just shook their heads as he headed out into the hall.

"Oh boy." Haley let out a breath. "He is such a mess."

* * *

_I had to split this chapter into two for update alert purposes - sorry - so click to continue..._


	21. What?

_This is part 2 of my bumper-update, so go back to chapter 20 if you haven't read that..._

Brooke paced up and down her living room. Lucas would be here any minute to babysit Amy; he'd called an hour ago from the airport. She realised she was biting her thumbnail and stopped, frowning to herself She wasn't sure why she was like this. He was constantly going away – usually for only a few days – but not infrequently for over a week like this. At first she hadn't noticed too much, but the last couple of days it seemed like everything she saw was something she wanted to tell Lucas about, or ask him about, or show him.

Like that stupid article; it would have been stupid to call him about it but if he had been over at the apartment they could have laughed about it together.

Brooke was never usually phased by that sort of stuff but when she'd seen the picture it had made her feel very weird. She remembered the moment perfectly, and at the time had felt like they were in a little time warp, completely alone. But obviously they hadn't been.

More than that though it was the expression on her face. It had reminded her exactly what she'd been feeling when the picture was taken, and although she couldn't quite admit it, she wanted a moment like that again.

She jumped when the doorbell rang, and in three paces had reached it.

Lucas had hardly lowered his hand when the door opened, and he saw Brooke standing there. A smile broke out across his face.

"Lucas!"

"Hey Brooke."

And then she had suddenly stepped forward into his arms, throwing hers around his shoulders. He hugged her back, holding her tightly and letting out a little sigh.

" Come in," she stepped back and stuck his hands in his pockets as he entered her apartment.

"Amy's went over to Maddie Cox's house after school but Celine should be dropping her back here soon."

Lucas nodded. "They made up after their fight then?" he asked, smiling wryly.

Brooke chuckled. "Yes. That lasted about a day. Enough time for Amy to get mad at _me_ for everything she could think of."

Lucas grinned. "Well there's years more of that to look forward to. If she turns out anything like you we've got some drama-filled years ahead of us!"

"Not just me! If it wasn't for _you_ I wouldn't have had half as much drama."

Lucas had to concede this point. Actually thinking about it, pretty much all of the big arguments had got into after the age of sixteen had been because of him…and they were mostly with Peyton.

"So how were the games?" Brooke asked. "I saw you guys had a tough time in New Jersey."

Lucas scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, coach wasn't too pleased after that."

"Well the Nets have had a strong season."

"Yeah, but we were meant to be having a strong season too."

Brooke gave a half-smile and nodded, resting a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry you guys lost."

Lucas shrugged, swallowing at the feather-light pressure of the cotton of his sweater under her fingers. "Yeah me too."

Brooke met his eyes for a second and then looked away, removing her hand and self-consciously fingering her necklace. To stop a silence forming she said: "Lee seems to be shaping into a strong player though; he had, what, eight assists, five three-pointers?"

Lucas chuckled. "It's so cute when you talk about basketball; in high school you didn't know any of this stuff!"

"Well you know what Amy's like – when you're talking to her 24/7 you pick up some stuff. I swear if she could transpose her skill for retaining basketball stats to math, she'd be coasting."

"She's great at math!"

"She's great at _reading_. She's okay at math. But really Lucas, she's my daughter, what do you expect? If it wasn't for you and Haley I would have failed calculus."

Lucas chuckled. "You would not have, you were good at math, you just lacked focus."

Brooke laughed out loud. "Yeah, sure. I would have been a math genius if I'd just been able to keep my attention off that damn boy in corner." She rolled her eyes and starting heading towards the kitchen. "Come on I'm going to make some tea."

Lucas grinned and followed her. "Well you never know Brooke, I was extremely distracting…"

The doorbell rang at that moment, and Brooke turned from her position at a cupboard door, her face lighting up. "That'll be Ames, can you get it?"

Lucas was already heading to the door. Brooke smiled as she watched him open it from the opposite end of the living room, and lift Amy up into his arms. She heard him thank Maddie's mom and then he headed back to the kitchen.

"Hi Mommy!"

"Hey honey. Did you have fun?"

"Yup. We made up a play about Harry Potter."

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Nice. You know if you performed that off-Broadway you could probably make a lot of money."

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"How come Daddy's here on a Wednesday?" Amy asked, speaking to Brooke but looking into Lucas' face from her position in his arms.

"Cause Mommy has to go to a really boring party with lost of people in stupid clothes," Lucas supplied.

"Oh shoot – I should be getting ready actually," Brooke said, checking her watch. "Yup, Ames, I have to go to this fashion thing, so you're Dad's here to babysit."

"Why am I not at your place?" Amy asked.

Brooke smiled to herself. "You field that," she murmured to Lucas, "I gotta go get dressed."

He smiled as he watched her leave.

"What's wrong with your place?" Amy persisted.

"Well, you remember how Emma and I decided to stop spending so much time with each other?"

"You broke up. Like how Ross and Emily broke up in _Friends_."

"Did Mummy let you watch _Friends_?"

"Daddy it's a funny show. And don't change the subject."

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "Okay. Fine. Yes, sort of like that."

"So that means you lose your home?"

"Well…yeah. Because Emma and I were renting it together. So now we're not renting it anymore."

"What's renting?"

Great, Lucas thought. She knew about the intricacies of adult relationships but didn't have the first idea about property. Couldn't Brooke make her watch _Property Ladder _or something instead of _Friends_ just once?

"Uh…we stopped paying for it. Or actually…Emma decided to let someone else start rent payments while I was away playing basketball. So right now I'm living with Aunt Haley."

Amy frowned. "Why don't you live here?"

Lucas laughed to himself. "Um…that is a good question Ames. That is a good question…" He glanced at his daughter and rubbed her hair. "It just works better if your Mom aren't together too much."

Amy frowned. "You're together the whole time."

Lucas thought to himself. This was very true. "It's…it's complicated."

"Like Math?"

Lucas chuckled and shook his head. "No Ames. Way harder than Math will ever be."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Wow Daddy. You'd got big problems."

Lucas scooped her up and headed over to the couch. "Yes Ames. Yes I do."

Brooke came downstairs ten minutes later wearing a short royal blue dress. Lucas turned his head and smiled at her over the back of the sofa.

"What?" she asked, as she pulled some black heels on.

"Nothing."

She smiled back. "I'll see you guys later." She came over and kissed them both on the top of the head.

After she'd gone Lucas sighed to himself. Ten days away from her and it took her ten minutes to get right back into his head.

* * *

Brooke padded down her hallway the next Saturday morning, rubbing her eyes and thinking about coffee. She stopped on her way to the kitchen as she heard the knock on the door, and then looked at her watch. "Crap." She called out to check. "Luke?"

"Yeah?" he wondered what the issue was. He heard the drawing back of the lock however and a second later she opened the door.

"Hey," she greeted him. "Sorry I just got up - " she stopped as she caught sight of Ollie standing behind him. "Oliver…Good morning. Lucas, a little heads up might have been nice…" she vaguely indicated her attire, which consisted of a pair of very short boxers and a T-shirt that was erring on the side of too small.

Lucas shrugged. "Sorry."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go get dressed. Amy will be ready…a little while after I wake her up."

Lucas chuckled and came into the apartment, as Brooke turned and headed back towards her bedroom. Ollie watched her retreating figure, eyebrows raised, and then turned to Lucas. 'Dude!' he mouthed, but Lucas just rolled his eyes.

"Is she often like that when she answers the door? I should really come over more often…"

Lucas shrugged. "She gets hot at night."

"Yeah I'll bet she does!"

"Ollie, one of the main things I like about you, and the main reason I agreed that you could come pick up Amy with me, is that you don't turn into a slavering jock around beautiful women. Please don't ruin the basis of our friendship."

"Okay normally, that is true; I like to think I'm a little smoother than most guys. But 'beautiful women' does not even begin to describe your ex-wife man, so in this case, I'm afraid that aspect of my personality kind of goes out the window."

Lucas just rolled his eyes and went to get some juice out of the fridge, pointedly not offering Ollie a glass.

Brooke came in a few minutes later, not dressed but with a dressing gown and red pyjama bottoms on. "Luke your daughter would like me to inform you that it is ridiculously early, and when the normal world has risen she will grace you with her presence. By which she means, she's not getting up yet."

Lucas nodded. "Right. What happened to getting dressed?" he asked, as he passed her a glass for some juice.

She shrugged. "Where do you think she gets the whole sloth thing from? It's Saturday morning."

"Dude, why are you complaining?" Ollie asked bewildered.

"Luke remember the talk we had about your chauvinist friends?"

Ollie laughed.

"I really thought this one would be okay," Lucas said helplessly.

"I have a question," Ollie said, "How come he's allowed to see you in your underwear, but as soon as you saw me here, you went to go change?"

Brooke gave him a look. "He's seen me naked, you _have not_."

"Well we can easily remedy that," Ollie said with a smirk.

Brooke rubbed her eyes in mock despair. "Oh my god it is way too early for this."

Ollie laughed and held up his hands. "Okay, okay. I'm done, I promise."

Brooke raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Very sure."

Lucas shook his head.

"So the lady of the house isn't rising?" he asked Brooke.

"Nope. You can go try if you want."

Lucas waved away the suggestion. "No, she can sleep for a bit. Any chance I could get some breakfast? Hales and Nate are out of food."

Brooke smiled. "If you cook it!"

Lucas shrugged and entered the apartment. Ollie hovered awkwardly on the threshold. "Uh…"

"Oh come on in," Brooke said. "As you probably know Lucas is apartmentless and is living off all his friends right now – so feel free to think of this as his home. He does." She gave a sardonic smile and Ollie chuckled, before following Brooke into the kitchen.

"Don't eat all my eggs," Brooke said as saw Lucas getting out a frying pan. "Amy's been wanting to make cookies."

"Oh, that sounds fun. Maybe we could do that today."

"No, you have to take her away," Brooke whined.

Lucas laughed. "You're so loving."

She rolled her eyes. "No, I would love to play with you guys, believe me, but I have to work here today."

"Oh. Sorry."

"And I just wanna sleep. It's that stupid show from Wednesday – I never caught up. I hate going out mid-week."

"Oh, I thought you were a total party-girl," Ollie said, only half-joking.

Brooke narrowed her eyes at Lucas, who was leaning against a kitchen counter drinking juice. "What do you tell your friends?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. Right?" He shot Ollie a look with widened eyes, trying to run through every conversation he'd ever had with Ollie for incriminating information.

Ollie chuckled. "No, I probably just read it somewhere. You know, how you read random stuff sometimes, like in…I dunno…_The National Enquirer_, maybe…"

Lucas put his hand over his eyes, smiling defeatedly. "Dude…"

"I'm just kidding, man. It's cool; there's obviously _nothing_ going on here…" He laughed as Lucas hit him on the arm.

Brooke just shook her head. "I'm going back to bed…"

"Wait, before you do - " Lucas caught her arm as she passed and pulled her back towards him. " - is it okay if I drop Ames back here later? Hales and Nate don't have much more room…"

Brooke was no conscious of Ollie watching them and slid her arm out of Lucas' hand before crossing it across her chest. "Yeah that's fine. Oh, and actually – I meant to ask you – Carrie wants to go apartment hunting so I thought we could all go tomorrow?"

"Sounds good".

"Great. And seriously, thanks so much for today Luke; I know you probably have loads of stuff to do to."

"No problem – it's the weekend – it's my turn."

She nodded, thinking how that it was strange that their sharing of Amy – which used to be regular as clockwork – had become so blurred recently.

"Well, anyway, thanks." She laid a hand on his chest without thinking, and then lifted it awkwardly with a glance at Ollie, who was looking away with his eyebrows raised.

"Goodbye Oliver," she said, with a syrupy smile that turned into a real one when he cracked and smiled back.

"Seeya Brooke."

She met Lucas' gaze again and they both rolled their eyes, and then patted his chest once more before leaving the room.

Lucas watched her go, still smiling, until Ollie coughed.

Lucas glanced round, pushing himself off from the counter. "What?"

_Please review! I forgot how much I loved them!! _

_Next chapter should be up relatively soon – I can't aim for weekly updates because a long chapter can take at least 12 hours start to finish and sometimes I just don't have that many free hours in a week. Having said that I've written some of it already (including a moment that I almost-prefer to the almost-kiss – if I do say so myself!) and I still owe you guys so we'll see… ; )_


	22. Being Smart and Sane

_Thank you all so much for your reviews! You're all awesome! (Unless you didn't review – in which case you're only mediocre ; )  
__Hope their aren't too many typos in this – read through was a bit slapdash as it's 4am and I don't have the energy to re-read 6000 words…I apologise just in case.  
__On we go!_

Brooke hurriedly selected a shirt from her wardrobe as she heard a knock on the door. "Carrie, can you get that!"

She heard Carrie troop down the hall and open the door, and then her voice as she greeted Lucas. Brooke slipped the shirt on and came down the hall.

Lucas looked up and felt his breath catch in his throat slightly as he caught a glimpse of Brooke's bare skin and white lacy bra as she did up the buttons of the shirt. Carrie saw his face change for a second and smiled to herself.

"Hey!" Brooke leaned up and kissed Lucas on the cheek. Carrie noted that Lucas' hand lingered at her waist for a moment.

"Mom can you do my hair? Lucy's party starts in half an hour." Amy traipsed into the living room looking closely at the red watch on her wrist and holding a hairbrush in her hand. "At least…I think it does." She looked up and caught sight of Lucas. "Daddy!"

Lucas smiled as she ran towards him and he scooped her up into his arms. "Hey baby girl. Long time no see," he joked.

She wrinkled her eyebrows. "I saw you yesterday. Mommy didn't say you were coming back."

"I didn't know," Brooke interjected. "_I_ though he was meeting us at lunch."

"Well I thought I'd drop by to see my girl before her party."

Amy nodded. "Can you do my hair?" she asked him.

Lucas chuckled. "No I think we can leave that to your mom." He handed her to Brooke who set her down on the edge of the sofa. "Okay, what's it gonna be?"

"Um…can you do it like yours?"

"Your layers have almost grown out; it might look a little severe without the little front bits," Brooke said, brushing her own to one side.

Amy nodded solemnly. "Okay, plaits then."

"Plaits it is."

There was a pause and Carrie and Lucas smiled at each other as Brooke began to part Amy's hair.

"Mom can I get my layers redone?"

Brooke chuckled. "I was wondering when that was coming. We'll see."

"Well I could just get Molly to cut it again…"

"No! No more cutting each other's hair. That's why we had to get the layers in the first place," she added to Carrie, rolling her eyes. "Seriously the stylist looked at me like I was one of those crazy moms who puts their kids in for pageants and stuff."

"I liked it!"

"Yeah, once the hairdresser had redone Molly's work!" Brooke shook her head. "Not again!" She turned to Lucas. "Amy did Molly's too, I thought it looked pretty good, but Molly's mom didn't feel the same way…"

Lucas chuckled. "Well that's good to know, she could always become a hairdresser."

Brooke gave him a look. "I have slightly higher hopes."

"I want to be a ballerina," Amy chipped in. "Except without the gross feet and anna…rexy-thingy."

Brooke raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Well that's…sort of a good ambition…"

She caught Lucas' wide-eyed look and smiled.

"There you go," she said as she finished off Amy's hair.

Amy slipped of the top of the couch. "Thanks Mommy!"

They all headed for the door once Amy had put her shoes on. "So can we go to the hairdresser's again this weekend?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Baby, I'm not going to take you to my hairdresser's every time you need a haircut, it costs an extortionate amount."

"Ooh mommy used a big word."

"This is terrible, my own daughter thinks I'm stupid."

"No I don't…just not as smart as Daddy," Amy said giggling.

Brooke gasped and Lucas chuckled. "Fifth in our college class Ames," Brooke said, picking her up and tickling her. "That's higher than your Dad!"

"Literature is a really hard major!" Lucas interjected.

"Oh whatever," Brooke retorted before turning back to Amy, "And Daddy was only smarter in high school because I was…not the hardest worker."

"And then you corrupted him so it all evened out," Carrie added laughing.

Brooke grinned. "Exactly."

* * *

Brooke, Carrie and Lucas stood in the seventh apartment they had seen that day, facing a fireplace with a chrome surround that stretched to the ceiling. 

"Maybe you could just…take it out?" Brooke suggested tentatively.

Lucas approached it and knocked on the hard metal surface. "Feels pretty solid…"

Carrie sighed and leant against the nearby wall. "I'm never gonna find a nice place."

"At least you have somewhere to go back to if you don't," Lucas said glumly.

"Manhattan needs…more space," Carrie stated slowly.

Brooke gave her a look. "No kidding." She turned to Lucas. "Are there any more on the list?"

"There's just one place on the West side."

He face brightened. "A Brownstone?"

He shook his head. "No it's some modern place. Still want one of those, huh?" he asked with a grin, referring to Brooke's long-time obsession with the large townhouses of Manhattan's Upper West side.

She smiled embarrassedly and shrugged. "I just miss living in a house a little. And there's something cool about the West side; it's less…ostentatious.

Carrie nodded sagely. "It has Zabar's. Best bread and cheese in New York."

Lucas remained quiet. It was also more family-orientated, and without the doormen and tented porches everywhere it almost felt like Tree Hill.

"But anyway, whole ones hardly ever go on the market, and plus for a nice one I'd be paying off the mortgage till I was sixty or something."

"I think we're done here," Carrie said. "Unless you don't mind this monstrous deocr Luke?"

He looked up, distracted. "Um, no. I mean, yeah. I do," he chuckled and looked around at the burgundy walls, "I really do; we should go."

They went to see the modern apartment, which was actually quite nice, though quite small. Carrie rang for more details about it as they left.

"I should probably go pick up Amy," Brooke said as they came out onto the street again.

Lucas checked his watch. "Yeah sure." He glanced up and down the street, vague thoughts forming.

"Are you going to keep looking or do you want to come back with us?"

"I'll, um…I'm gonna stick around here for a bit," he said. "I'll see you guys soon."

"Okay." She smiled softly and they said goodbye, and Brooke and Carrie went to catch a cab, while Lucas head off in the other direction, hands in his pockets as he walked down the tree-lined street.

* * *

Brooke stood in Starbucks on a Thursday in December queuing to buy her lunch. She was in a bad mood; this was a new branch of the coffee shop, which had replaced her favourite deli where she usually got her midday salad. Starbucks was fine for coffee, but there was one already two blocks over, and she really didn't need any more coffee anyway. What she needed was a sun dried tomato and avocado salad. 

She felt her phone vibrate and shifted her bag so she could rifle through it to find the buzzing object. Her irritation faded as she saw the name on the screen.

"Hey Luke. God I'm glad it's you and not someone from work. I'm having a crappy day."

"Oh. That sucks, how come?"

She hesitated. "Um…I don't really know. Lost of things. It sort of comes down to a lack of sun dried tomatoes."

Lucas chuckled and Brooke smiled into the phone; she could picture his face exactly.

"Well that sounds…very serious," he said, "Could you be revived by a basketball game tonight? Court side seats…" His voice sounded hopeful.

Brooke hesitated for a second, a little surprised. "That actually sounds fun – how come you have tickets?"

"Well, actually Emma was meant to take Amy; I got the tickets a while ago and it was going to be a surprise but then I completely forgot about it... But I'm sure Ames would still want to go."

"Yeah, definitely. That would be nice."

"Okay. Cool. Well, I'll leave them with the box office. If you give your name you can pick them up - "

"Yeah, I remember."

There was a second's silence. Brooke had only gone to a Knicks' game once before. He had thought she might have forgotten it. "Right."

"I'll see you later. Thanks Luke."

"No problem. Thanks for coming."

Brooke smiled to herself as she slid her phone shut. She realised she was really looking forward to this. It had been such a long time since she had last seen him play live.

She had been to a game at Madison Gardens once before, when Lucas had first started playing for the Knicks. The two of them had not been speaking then, but Amy, not even three yet, only understood that something exciting was happening and had been desperate to go and for some reason Brooke decided she should take her rather than anyone else. Lucas had dreamed of playing for a big NBA team for so long that even amidst everything she felt she had to go.

They had court side seats then too; Brooke was still doing some modelling then and she remembered being aware of a camera photographing her as she watched the game. Lucas played well; the game was a success, but every now and again he would look over to where Amy was sitting – to give her a thumbs up or something – and then catch Brooke's eye, and his expression would fleetingly be one of such intense sadness that she could hardly stand it. All his dreams had come true, yet he had lost everything along the way.

Brooke had found being in a gym with his again – even one that was surrounded by a stadium full of thousands of people – felt too surreal, and afterwards when they went to meet him she kissed Amy goodbye as he approached and watched her daughter toddle over to her father before leaving without saying a word.

Brooke sighed as she paid for her unwanted sandwich. It would be different this time. Everything was different.

* * *

Brooke had seen Lucas play on TV many times, but it was very different to be in the stadium when the Knicks team jogged in; to see him in 3D, in the flesh, in his basketball game, shooting jump shots in the warm up with the same wrist action he'd had since the river court. 

But Brooke could watch this with a smile now; she didn't feel strangled by their history anymore. The memories were a warm presence in the back of her mind but the present was enough to make her smile, as she split a pretzel with Amy – who was already bouncing up and down on her seat full of lemonade – and grinned without restraint at Lucas when he raised a hand to the two of them in a wave.

Photographers were prowling round the edge of the court as usual; their attention was often focused elsewhere – John Krasinksi was there – though Brooke noticed flashes in her direction occasionally. Amy stuck her tongue out at them and Brooke covered her mouth with her hand, though she couldn't prevent a smile.

Whenever Lucas scored a basket he couldn't help but look over in their direction, and sometimes he managed to meet Brooke's eyes as he jogged back into defensive position. Once she held up her hands in the shape of an 'L', a '4' and a 'P', mouthing the words of a chant they had once had at NYU that went along the lines of Luke for President. Lucas felt a bubble of happiness grow inside him; a little thrill run down his spine at the sight of her smile.

After the game Brooke and Amy headed for the player's area and locker rooms, flashing the passes Lucas had supplied with their tickets. There was a lounge-type room where families and various members of the team's entourage sat around waiting for them to warm down and change. Amy watched the widescreen TV with Justin, the young son of one of Lucas' team-mates.

Brooke felt a little out of place; a few of the players had wives or long term girlfriends, but they all seemed to know each other very well from frequent travelling with the team.

After a little while she slipped out of the door that led to the locker room, and waited outside there for Lucas to come out.

Coach Carmichael pushed through the doors of the locker room, heading out into the hall. Folding his clipboard shut, he suddenly stopped as he caught sight of feet in front of him.

Feet in ballet pumps. Ballet pumps were unusual in the Knicks locker room. He lifted his head slowly, his eyes moving up the two slender legs in matte black tights, a grey mini skirt, perfectly straight, and then the bright blue of a Knicks fan's T-shirt, the team's name clearly visible in its bright orange letters between the edges of the open black jacket she wore. A mane of brown hair hung in a low ponytail over one shoulder. Her face was only half visible, looking down towards the Blackberry she held in her hands.

Carmichael hesitated, sifting through the player's girlfriends in his mind to figure out who she could be. The doors opened behind him and the person coming through almost bumped into him. He jumped and got out the way.

"Oh, sorry coach."

Carmichael held up a hand and shook himself, his thoughts still on the woman. "No problem."

"See you tomorrow."

Carmichael nodded. "Yeah, nice play Scott."

Lucas moved past him, and when Carmichael looked after him, he realised the woman had looked up, and was now beaming at Lucas Scott.

He shook his head to himself, remembering. That was the ex-wife.

"Hey," Lucas said, aware of his coach heading away from them down the hall, leaving them alone.

He was aware that she was standing very close to him and she seemed about to hug him when the door of the locker room opened again and Dave came out, talking into his phone. Brooke bit her lip and held herself back, placing a hand on Lucas' arm instead. "Hey."

"Was that fun?" He asked.

She smiled. "Yeah, it was awesome. I forgot how much I loved live basketball – half the fun of cheering used to be watching the games."

"Well I've gotta admit I'm a little disappointed you didn't break out the pom-poms."

Brooke laughed. "Uh, yeah...that was not gonna happen."

"You couldn't have just worn the uniform?"

"Luke!" she hit him on the arm and he laughed. There was a click to their left and Dave turned round, having finished his phone call. He had his eyebrows raised and gave Lucas a look before heading off down the hall.

Lucas hesitated for a second, a guilty expression on his face. "Good game man," he called after him.

"Yeah, whatever _player_…" Dave called back.

Luke turned back to Brooke, his mouth opened. She just looked down, hiding a smile. "Let's go get Ames."

He nodded. "Sure."

They headed back towards the waiting lounge, Lucas digging his hands in his pockets. He glanced to his left, and saw that Brooke was smiling to herself.

"Hey, thanks for coming."

She glanced up at him. "Anytime."

* * *

Brooke frowned to herself as she swept through the 37th floor of her office building, punching keys on her Blackberry. She reached her office and opened her door distractedly, then stopped suddenly. 

Lucas was sitting at her desk, reading a copy of Vogue.

"Hi."

Her new assistant was suddenly buzzing at her back. "I'm so sorry Brooke I was just going to tell you. Um…he said he just needed to talk to you quickly and - "

Brooke and Lucas shared a look as she spoke, and Brooke's lips curved in a smile as Lucas fought to keep a straight face from his position opposite the flustered woman.

"That's fine Cathy. Thank you."

Cathy gave an off half bow and backed out.

"Your assistants never seem to last very long," Lucas observed, putting down the copy of Vogue but not vacating her chair. "Whatever you say about not being one of those fashion bitches, I think you're a little worse than you think, Meryl Streep."

"I knew I should never have let you see that movie," Brooke muttered. "And that's totally not true. It just so happens that I am so wonderful at picking and training assistants that they always seem to be able to get incredible new jobs after 6 months of working for me…"

Lucas chuckled. "Right."

"And also, you cannot tease me in my own office. And get out of my chair."

Lucas raised his hands. "Wo, cool it Vannessa."

"Since when do you watch Ugly Betty!?"

"Haley has the box set."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "You still haven't moved."

Lucas pouted. "It's comfy."

Brooke leant on the desk in front of him. "So? I don't sneak into your locker room and steal the best seat."

Lucas gave a wistful sigh. "You used to…"

"Luke!" She looked genuinely shocked and Lucas chuckled, a happy roster of images of semi-naked Brooke running through his mind.

"I'm sorry," he said, still grinning, "And I'm sorry for barging in here but I was just passing and I need to sort out some Christmas plans with you before I go off on some more games tomorrow."

Brooke nodded. "Okay, sure." She raised her eyebrows. "What are your plans?"

Lucas hesitated. He wanted them to be whatever hers were. Did she suddenly have new plans? "Um…well I was going to go to Tree Hill to stay with my Mum, and then I guess you and Amy will come for lunch - "

He broke off as he saw that Brooke was smiling at him. "What?"

She shook her head and laughed. "I'm sorry, you just sound so tentative. Luke, that's what's happened every year since Amy was born."

"Right. I just wanted to check…" And invite her to stay with them too. And now of course he couldn't. "So…you're staying with…?" Over the years Amy and Brooke had spent Christmas Eve at a variety of places; sometimes friends, sometimes Brooke's parents, and then everyone would go to Karen's for lunch and presents.

"My parents called and said they'd be coming down this year to see their darling granddaughter, so we'll stay with them at The Banbury," Brooke said, referring to the smartest hotel in Tree Hill.

"Right. Cool."

She narrowed her eyes for a second, sensing something was up. "Anything else you wanted to ask?"

"Nope. Just wanted to…get that sorted." He placed his hands on the arms of her desk chair, about to push himself up, but then just swung the chair back and forth a little instead.

"Okay…actually there was something I meant to ask you. I'm really sorry to do this again but Ralph is hosting a Christmas benefit next Thursday, so I really have to go, and Amy now demands you be her babysitter rather than Alex…Are you busy?"

Lucas chuckled. "No, I'm not. That's fine, I'm happy to do it."

Brooke smiled. "Thanks so much. And hey, if I can ever return the favour - if you want to go on some dates or anything…"

"Uh, thanks," He muttered and stood up awkwardly, continuing in an undertone, "I don't think there's much chance of that."

Brooke slipped off her desk, and suddenly they were very close together. Lucas felt his breath catch.

Brooke had her mouth open to speak and hesitated, setting a hand on Lucas' arm. "Thanks for coming by. Feel free to sneak in again any time." She tried to lighten the tone and he smiled a little.

"I'll see you on Thursday."

"Yeah, see you then."

"Bye Luke."

* * *

There was a knock on the door and Brooke stuck her head out of her bedroom door. "Ames can you check who that is?" 

Amy ran over to the door and stood on tiptoe to look out of the peep-hole.

"It's Dad!"

Brooke came out of her bedroom. "What's that? A serial killer? Better not let him in then."

Amy giggled. "Okay, we'll just leave him outside."

They heard a laugh from the other side of the door and Lucas' voice. "Guys, come on!"

Brooke rolled her eyes and opened the door. "Huh, looks like a serial killer to me too Ames, good call."

Lucas rolled his eyes at her and came in, silently glad that the tone between him and Brooke had regained its lightness, and ducked down and to swing Amy up into his arms. She squealed and smiled as he kissed her. "You wanna go see a movie this evening Ames?"

"Yeah!"

He turned to Brooke. "Is that okay?"

She nodded and he kept his eyes on her, pulling a fake frown over his smile. "It might just be me but that outfit doesn't really scream stylish and successful."

Brooke was wearing sweatpants and a tank top.

"Well I'm a little behind schedule on the whole getting ready thing."

He raised his eyebrows. "I see."

"So I'm afraid you gotta stick around for a bit cause we just put some cookies in the oven and I'm about to go take a shower, so you need to take them out."

"I made them myself." Amy grinned.

"Wow, with chocolate chips?"

"Of course!"

"Okay, well we'd better go check on them then," Lucas said, putting her down. "We'll see you in a minute," he said to Brooke, and she smiled as she turned and headed upstairs.

"Wo, these smell really good!"

Lucas looked up as he heard Brooke's voice and saw her entering the kitchen.

Post-shower.

Not helpful.

He felt his throat tighten slightly. She was wrapped in a blue towel and her wet hair was pulled back in a messy bun, a few tendrils falling round her face. Droplets of water still rested on her skin and she had one hand across her chest, holding up the towel.

"Uh…yeah."

She caught the slight widening of his eyes and turned away, heading towards the kettle. "Sorry, I just really wanted some coffee I started making earlier."

"Sure, yeah. The water should still be…hot."

Her hair was swept over one shoulder and as she stood with her back to him making coffee he saw a muscle move in her neck and the very edge of a smile.

"You want one?" Amy asked, picking up a cookie.

Brooke turned round from the counter and bit her lip. "It sucks that I know exactly how much sugar and butter are in those."

Lucas gave her a look. "Brooke!"

"I'm still gonna have one," she said, as if it were obvious, "It just means I can't pretend their made out of celery or something." She broke off a piece of one of the cookies and took a bite, then gave Amy a thumbs up. "Job well done Ames."

"So what movie are you guys gonna see?" she asked after a second, licking a bit of chocolate of her thumb and taking up her coffee mug.

"Um…I'm sure," Lucas said.

"Ooh can I chose?" Amy piped up.

"Sure. Actually we'd better go soon," he said, checking his watch.

"Yeah, and I'm at the stage where I have to actually chose what I'm going to wear so I'll be walking round in my underwear for the next half hour."

"Well I'll be sorry to miss that."

She pushed his head playfully and went past him to Amy. "I'll see you in the morning sweetie, I love you."

"Love you too Mommy." Brooke kissed her head, and pulled her into a one armed hug. She turned to Lucas and smiled. "Thank you so much for doing this again Luke. I see you later." She stepped towards him and kissed him on the cheek. "Sorry I'm a little wet."

"Oh…it's uh…fine."

She glanced at him and he looked away.

"Okay…bye you guys."

"Bye Mom!"

"Have a good time at the…thing."

She smiled. "I'll try. Bye!"

--

Later in the movie theatre Lucas leant his head back against the seat as some blonde guy with a ridiculous tan belted out an inspirational love song on the screen and Amy sat next to him with a wrapt expression on her face.

What had happened earlier?

Nothing. Nothing at all had happened and he was completely overreacting to what were totally normal feelings…no. There were no feelings. Because nothing had happened.

And even if there were, that was perfectly normal. It was Brooke. Like…the epitomy of sexuality, wearing only a towel. What guy wouldn't be a little flustered? Turned on even.

But this was the mother of his child, not some girl in a movie. If he couldn't control his feelings around her…

He knew that as soon as he closed his eyes she would be there. Half naked in her kitchen, licking chocolate off her fingers. He could see the drops of water running down her neck…

Oh god. He was so screwed.

* * *

Brooke slipped quietly into the darkened apartment. She placed her back on the table near the door, and slipped off her sling-back heels. She smiled to herself as she saw the dark shape stretched across her couch. 

She padded over to him and leant over the back of the couch, the features of his face becoming clear as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. He had one arm thrown behind his head, and the other lying across his chest. She reached out a hand and hesitated, torn between wanting to talk to him and watch him sleep.

He turned suddenly in his sleep and his arm hit her hand. She withdrew it quickly but his eyes were already fluttering open. He blinked a few times, before emitting his wonderful Lucas-waking sound that was somewhere between a groan of pain and pleasure. God she missed that sound.

"Hey." His voice was husky. She missed that too.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't really asleep."

She grinned. "Yes you were."

He smiled bashfully. "How was your night?"

"It was okay. I'm really hungry though, it's always awkward eating canapés when you're talking to people you don't know."

"There's still some cookies left."

"Awesome. I'm just gonna go change first."

He nodded. "Sure. You look stunning by the way."

She smiled, feeling herself actually blush at his brazen tone. "Thanks."

Brooke headed to her room and slip out of her dress, putting on red-striped cotton shorts and a white tank top instead. She went into her bathroom and removed her make-up, before absent-mindedly twisting her hair up into a bun. She glanced at herself in the mirror and then stopped, pulling out the hairband and running a hand through her hair. She leaned in closer to the mirror, and suddenly wished she hadn't taken her eyeliner off, smudged as it had been.

It dawned on her that she cared more about what she looked like right now that she had before she went out that evening.

That was not right.

And she realised why, too. It was that expression on his face when she had come into the kitchen earlier that evening after her shower. She really hadn't realised what she was doing until she saw his eyes and suddenly felt very…naked.

But that look…god she had missed what that look in his eyes did to her.

But what was she trying to do now, just get a rise out of Lucas? That was stupid. She pulled her hair back up into a ponytail, and went back into her bedroom and pulled a hoody on over her tank top. She looked down and realised it was Lucas' old Scott Body shop hoody. Bad idea. She groaned to herself and pulled it off, selecting a thin blue sweater instead. Pulling the sleeves over her hands, she headed back into the living room.

Lucas was coming out of the kitchen holding a tray with two mugs on it and a plate of cookies chopped apple and cheese.

Her mouth fell open.

"Midnight snack," he said, grinning.

"Luke, that is so sweet. You really don't have to stay up."

He shrugged. "I don't mind." He hoped that wasn't her hinting she felt uncomfortable alone with him in the dark apartment.

It seemed not, as after he had set down the tray and taken a seat on the couch she dropped down next to him, her bare knee resting against his thigh as she drew her legs up and lifted a mug of hot chocolate off the tray.

She took a sip and then closed her eyes and smiled before taking a piece of apple of the plate. She turned to him and waited for him to meet her eyes. "You are my favourite person in the world right now," she said.

He smiled back. Twelve years of trying to make Brooke Davis happy and all it took was the perfect midnight snack.

"Um…I have something to tell you." Lucas' voice broke into the stillness a little later after their conversation had died down during the second round of hot chocolate and they were both settled in a sleepy, satisfied state.

He saw Brooke's eyes open, and shine in the darkness opposite him.

"I had a talk with Coach Carmichael today." Lucas looked down, spreading his hands out over his knees. "I lost my starting spot."

Brooke opened her mouth instantly, her face falling. But she wasn't sure what to say. "Luke…I'm so sorry." Her hand found his knee and she sat up a little.

He shrugged. "It's okay actually." He looked up, and saw her concerned expression. "No, really. I…had a good run. I mean, there are only a couple of guys my height in the NBA, and none of them are regular starters. Plus, I'm not 22 anymore."

Brooke moved closer to him and rested a hand on his arm. "Luke, I know this is difficult, but there's no need to make us sound old, okay?"

Lucas caught the slight twitch of her lips and chuckled. "Sorry."

She rubbed his arm gently. "Me too," she said sincerely, and he could tell she was talking about the basketball again.

He smiled slightly and nodded. There was silence for a moment, and then Lucas broke it. "Well I guess that blows any chance I ever had with you again. I don't think 'ex-model' Brooke Davis settles for anything less than MVP."

She rolled her eyes at his reference to the article, and suppressed the ripple that had run through her at his first words. "No, you said it right there. _Ex_-model. We can be washed up together."

He grinned.

She pulled him into a hug. "I really am sorry," she whispered.

He held her a little tighter, and he knew the crushing feeling on his chest wasn't due to the loss of his starting spot.

"Uh, I haven't told Nate and Hales yet…so if you could keep it under raps for a bit."

She nodded. "Yeah, sure."

--

Half an hour later, the NBA was forgotten and they were lost down memory lane.

"No, way worse than getting a Halloween costume mixed up was the time you and Nathan ended up in _jail_."

"That was his fault!"

"Or going to a strip club on Ladies' night?"

"Tim's fault!"

"Or dating Peyton…"

Lucas tipped his head to one side, wondering how he could get out of that. "Okay. That perhaps wins the stupidest thing I've ever done."

"Hey! That's my best friend you're talking about."

"No, obviously she's really great but - "

"Hey! Watch the compliments."

"No, I didn't mean - "

Brooke giggled, biting her lip to stop herself. "You're so easy," she said, shaking her head.

Lucas shoved her shoulder. "And you're cruel!"

Brooke laughed.

"Plus I bet you've done way dumber things than me…"

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Name one."

Lucas hesitated, looking at her stern expression. "I'm scared to."

She grinned and rested a hand on his knee. "You're so cute."

He smiled to herself. He was getting intoxicated from her again; the combination of all of their history being brought up around them, and the incredible woman she had become sitting there curled against him, was sending his heart into overdrive.

She turned to look at him, breaking his reverie. "See, I _am_ saner and smarter than you."

"Okay, fine, I have one."

"What happened to being too scared to say?"

"I just couldn't think of anything."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Okay what?"

"When Amy was first born you were _psychotic_ about everything. Like actually insane. Remember when she had to get her jabs done and you couldn't bear to be in the room because they made her cry, but you thought the nurse was going to steal her or something when I wasn't watching?"

"Hey! Hormone-induced incidents don't count. All mothers are illogical post-pregnancy. Plus if we get into Amy-produced craziness I think you still lose…"

He shook his head and laughed. "Okay, fine. Maybe you have been smarter than me."

"Thank you." She grinned at him.

"But give a guy a break," he laid a hand on the back of her head now, his thumb moving up and down. "It's hard to stay sane around you."

"What, am I that maddening?"

"Oh yeah," he chuckled. "But in the best way." She turned her neck to look at him properly, and smiled.

Lucas smiled back at her gently, and her smile subsided as her eyes burned intensely into his. She broke the gaze suddenly to set her mug down, and Lucas pressed his lips together and swallowed. But she settled back a little closer against his arms. Lucas kept his eyes on her, drawing her nearer him and resting his mouth against her hair. He opened his lips to speak, and then closed them hesitating for a second.

It came out as a murmur, his lips moving the hairs on her head as he spoke, the corners of his mouth twitching in a small smile. "I love you."

She froze for a second, he felt it. Her head slowly turned and she met his eyes, straight on. She wasn't scared, he could see, maybe slightly surprised. Her eyes were big and open, but she didn't look completely shocked, just…as if she were reading him. Just slightly unsure.

She reached out and took his face, laying a hand flat against his opposite cheek. She rested her lips against his jaw, kissing him there hard for a moment. Her face stayed close to his, her nose resting on his cheek. Lucas closed his eyes, and the edges of his lips curved just slightly. He lifted a hand to her neck and he could feel her pulse racing against his fingers.

She wasn't going to say anything, he'd realised that. But this was almost better. She could have ignored it; treated it as a flippant announcement of the kind of love that all close friends share and declare every now and again. But she hadn't. He had meant it. Meant it to mean more than that; and she knew that.

She wasn't going to turn this perfect night into something more – open it out to the repercussions that would inevitably result if she said it back. She had responded though, and that was enough to take them past the point of no return. And so he drifted into sleep, feeling her body curled against his, knowing he could wait now that the end was in sight.

_PLEASE review!! This chapter is among the longest I've ever written so it should deserve some! Up next…Christmassyness. BL style - i.e. with extra longing and a side helping of flirtation._


	23. Making Your Road

_Oh dear, how time flies. Every weekend I sat down to work on this and always got stuck on the key scenes, and then somehow a week, or more, fled by before I tried again. But here it is, and I hope it was worth the effort. Let's just say 23 is a special number in Tree Hill terms._

_Thank you all SO much for your reviews – you guys are so sweet – they made me so happy!_

_On we go…_

Brooke frowned to herself as she stood on tiptoes to move another box aside on the top shelf of her closet. Since when had she had so much stuff?

An accidental find the previous day of an old, favourite red dress she had had in college had sparked a fervent desire to do some spring cleaning. Regardless of the fact that, firstly, it was winter, and secondly, she hated cleaning. Brooke had risen in high spirits that Sunday morning; she had the whole day to herself, as Amy was with Lucas, and she was excited by the prospect of completely clearing out her life.

Only, she had forgotten quite how messy it was.

"What the hell…" she mumbled to herself, as she pulled the lid of a box marked 'CDs' and found a jumble of hairclips, old make-up and various floaty scarfs that had last been in fashion when she was in high school. Incidentally, one of the designers for the spring line had been talking about these in a meeting just the other day. Brooke put the box to her left, in the 'keep' area.

She pulled down another box, this one also marked CDs, and, with some trepidation, lifted the lid to find that this time the label on the front did not lie.

"Ooh, Maroon 5…" She lifted out a stack of CDs, excited at the prospect of all her old music. Sifting through them she saw the names of all the bands whose music had accompanied her high school years. Still reading tracklists, she wandered into the living room and over to her stereo; she hadn't played anything but her I-pod on it for months, but she opened the CD player now and flipped open the 'Chariot' box, placing the CD in and hitting play.

The familiar opening of 'Follow Through' resounded round her apartment, and Brooke smiled to herself as she remembered the countless times she had played this in her car as she drove round Tree Hill.

She began searching through the rest of the stack, looking for another singer she had missed as much as Gavin Degraw.

Lucas had given it to her for her birthday in Junior year when he'd been completely broke. He'd also made her a candlelit dinner on the roof of their apartment block she remembered…

Opening the box slowly, she took out the CD, and looked at it for a moment before putting it in the CD player.

She turned the box over as the first track started, and smiled to herself as she read the names. It was full of old songs from high school and memories came flooding back.

Goo Goo Dolls, Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate …all that old crap that Lucas and Peyton used to listen to that Brooke kinda secretly liked. An old Beatles song, too – 'The Long and Winding Road' – that she remembered sounded depressing until you listened to the words.

Then he'd added some of the music she liked: Maroon 5, Gavin Degraw, David Gray, but he'd stopped there: sadly there was no Backstreet Boys or Beyonce.

But there was, of course, 'Mixtape'. Very witty.

'Chariot' came to an end and Reeve Oliver's 'Yer Motion' began. Brooke smiled to herself and nodded to along to the beat, remembering when she used to blast this out from her car.

_If you were willing to let it be_  
_You were hurt once that's not me  
I would never let you down  
I could never let you go…_

Her smile faded a little, and she leant her head back against the couch.

_I could never let you go…  
__I've come back for you_  
_Leaving you was a mistake all along  
And I was wrong, yeah I was wrong…_

This line repeated and Brooke narrowed her eyes at the CD player. Alright already.

_Who would leave you in the backseat…_

That line always used to make her think of when she'd first introduced herself in his car. She smiled at the thought of her high school self. It seemed like another lifetime. Her smile faded as she heard the next couple of lines:

_And you won't be going back, to the one who left you nowhere…_

She struggled to remember their last kiss. She had tried before, but never very hard; for some reason that memory seemed especially forbidden. Even in recent weeks when she had found herself considering Lucas in a new – or, rather, old – light, their parting seemed too recent, too relevant – too real – to think about. But now she found that even if she tried, she couldn't fix on their last kiss. The morning after: that was printed on her memory. A few frames of going out of the door that replayed over and had not faded with time.

_The one who left you nowhere…_

The kiss was lost somewhere amidst the sex and arguments of that last meeting. The fact struck Brooke as incredibly important; she had placated herself for years with the fairy tale of their romance – the first love that's bad ending was simply the bittersweet seal that made it fit for a movie screen. She had defined their relationship as one of passion, where a surplus of feelings had caused the fire to rage itself to a fitting conclusion.

But it had not concluded so much as cut off. It just stopped. It broke.

And now there was this possibility of putting it back together.

The song had ended. There was a sudden knock on the door in the silence and Brooke made a sharp intake of breath. She shook herself and stood up to go and answer it.

It was Lucas. Standing, looking annoyingly attractive as always in a brown leather jacket.

"Hey Brooke"

She found herself smiling. "Hey Luke. That's so weird I was just thinking about you."

Lucas's eyebrows raised slightly, and inside his breath caught in his throat. He recovered quickly. "Really? Me and what?"

"Oh…shirtless covered in whipped cream. The usual."

He chuckled, but was almost disappointed at her flippant reply. "Right."

"So, what's up? How's Amy?"

"She's good. She's doing her Panda project, which is why I'm here actually."

"Oh yeah. Sorry I left you with that one!"

"Oh, it's fine; Hales is having a blast with the glitter glue. But Ames said she left a folder here with some pictures she printed out that she absolutely couldn't manage without, and that absolutely could not be printed out again."

Brooke laughed. "I know the ones she means; sorry, I should have reminded her to take them. I printed them at work on one of our special laser printers so they're nice and glossy."

"Yeah, I gathered there was some reason why Nathan's printer was not up to the task."

"So you drove across town! You're such a pushover." She grinned at him, shaking her head.

He sighed. "I know. I'm defenceless against dimples and crocodile tears…as you well know."

Brooke pulled a shocked face. "I never used fake tears!"

"You didn't have to."

Brooke chuckled and shook her head. "The pictures are probably in her room; I'll just go look."

"Thanks Brooke."

Brooke headed off down the hall and Lucas moved into the living room. The pile of CDs on the coffee table caught his eye, and he sifted through them, surprised to find there was quite a high proportion of decent music. Although most of those were probably CDs of his she had stolen over the years. Picking up a Deathcab CD he opened her CD player, and then stopped as he saw the one that was already in there. He recognised his own handwriting instantly.

To Brooke, love Lucas, June 08

He frowned for a second and then remembered it; the CD he had given her for her birthday that year. He stood, wondering why –

Hearing her footsteps in the corridor he instinctively shut the lid of the player again, and when she came in he was just looking at an old Killers LP. He looked up casually, "Did you find them?"

Brooke was distracted for a second as her eyes lingered on the slight pink tinge in his cheeks. Was she just imagining it, or…?

"Uh…yeah. They're in here." She held out a Minnie Mouse folder.

"Thanks so much Brooke; she'll be relieved."

Brooke shook off her paranoid thoughts. "No problem."

"Um, I also just wanted to check when you're flying out to Tree Hill; Thursday, right?"

"Yup, I finish work on Wednesday, remember?"

"Right. Are you on the, er, two O'clock?"

"Yeah... Didn't we book the same flight?"

"Oh, yeah, I was just checking...so…you wanna meet at the airport?"

There was no mistaking it now; Lucas's cheeks were definitely getting red. He dug his free hand in his pocket raised his eyebrows a little, his expression one of feigned disinterest.

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, sure…" Then she shrugged, "Or you can come over before; we can share a cab."

"Okay."

Even he realised that his reply was a little too eager.

"Okay…" Brooke kept her gaze on him, but he seemed to have deteriorated into silence. "So I'll see you in a couple of days?"

He nodded, jerked back into action. "Yeah, um…" he hesitated one more second then abruptly began to move towards the door. "I'll see you then."

Brooke looked after him as he strode out of the door.

So what was all that about?!

Twenty minutes later, as Lucas sat stuck in traffic in a cab heading downtown, the tracklist of that CD started to come back to him. He remembered exactly what had been first: 'Polaris' by Jimmy Eat World. Scrolling through his I-pod he found it amongst the thousands of songs on there that he hardly ever listened to. He sat quietly as he listened to it all the way through, remembering how the last lines resonated so much four years ago:

_If you go I'll let you be  
__Though it's killing everything in me…_

Jimmy Eat World didn't know squat. He should have hung onto her with everything he had.

"Ames! We've gotta go!"

Brooke stood by the door of their apartment, surrounded by suitcases. She had no idea how she was going to get all this stuff to the airport if Lucas didn't show up soon; every year she told Amy she'd have to leave some presents to unwrap after they got back from Tree Hill, and somehow every year Amy managed to ensure they all got packed.

She yelled over her shoulder towards the bedroom again: "Ames – now!"

"I'm coming!"

Brooke looked down at her phone screen one more time. Where the hell was he? She sighed; he'd just have to meet them at the airport.

"Okay, I'm ready." Amy came into the living room pulling her little powder-blue case after her, and Brooke started gathering the other cases together.

"I thought Dad was coming."

"So did I," Brooke mumbled, and then said aloud, "He'll meet us there honey."

She managed to navigate her way out through the door and locked it behind her, and then slung the strap of the smallest bag over her shoulder and gathered the handles of the other two.

Amy pushed the button for the elevator. They stood waiting. Brooke blew some hair out of her eyes.

The light for their floor came up and pinged, and the doors slid open, to reveal Lucas, standing in his jacket, with no bags.

"Uh. Hi."

"Where the hell have you been!?"

He hesitated for a second, still surprised at the incredible timing, and then chuckled. "Um, I got held up getting uptown. I have a cab waiting."

Brooke narrowed her eyes but hustled Amy into the elevator. "Take a bag."

Lucas took the handle of the largest suitcase on wheels and slid the strap of the other off her shoulder and onto his.

"Okay, I forgive you."

"That's gracious of you."

"Well I was waiting."

"I'm not _that_ late. And I brought a cab."

"I was facing the prospect of dragging these things to JFK all by myself."

"You're doorman would have got you a cab. Anyway, I wasn't going to have been here at all, originally. Then how would you have coped?" His tone was light; he was in a good mood.

Brooke looked up, meeting his eyes. "I don't know." She smiled. "Thank you for coming."

He smiled back. "You're welcome."

"You're my hero."

He narrowed his eyes. "Now you're just mocking me."

Brooke pulled her scarf up over her chin as she walked, her breath making smoky clouds appear in the cold air. It was so nice to be walking around in Tree Hill again. Not that she didn't love New York, but familiar scenery of her old home filled her with a peace that she had been lacking the past few weeks in Manhattan.

Amy was spending the day shopping with Haley, and Brooke had spent the morning having a really nice catch up with Peyton. Now she was just walking, on the pretext of picking up some last minute things for the following day. But her route had taken her far from the shopping streets, and she was enjoying having a chance to just walk and think.

She dipped her head and her nose brushed the soft cashmere; she breathed in the familiar smell and smiled.

She didn't need the fact she was wearing his scarf as a prompt to think about him, but it ensured that there was only one subject circling her head.

As she often did now when she was alone, she reached for a certain memory in her mind, unwrapping like a treasure and letting it slowly pervade her senses, until it was as though she were living the moment again.

It was still recent enough that she could remember everything about the room around them: the dark outlines of the furniture, the red glow of the LEDs on her TV and DVD player, the soft shadows across his face.

And she could remember the exact cadence of his words: "I love you." Falling, tumbling out of his mouth. Each word equally weighted.

At least, she thought she could remember exactly. But perhaps she imagined those last details; perhaps she has invented the sincerity in his voice, overlaid that onto what was a whimsical expression of tender feelings for a friend?

She chewed her lip, wondering for the hundredth time whether she should have said something back. In the moment, she'd thought he'd meant it. But she had put it down to a moment of emotion on his part where he just wanted to let her know of his gratitude – for their talk, their friendship – who knows? After all she occasionally had moments like that, where she had an urge to tell Haley, Peyton…Lucas – any of her close friends – how much they meant to her.

And she hadn't said anything back because if she had it would have changed the moment; sealed it, made it real. She wasn't even sure what 'it' was. Although she was pretty sure she wanted it.

Brooke looked round and took in her surroundings for the first time in a few minutes. She smiled to herself as she caught sight of the river and line of trees up ahead. Figures.

She headed on towards the River court, slowing her pace as she turned off the street and came upon it, to see a figure shooting hoops in the gathering dusk. She became aware of her heartbeat.

As she approached the figure stopped bouncing the ball, and stood with it tucked under one arm. She saw he was smiling.

"Hey." Her voice matched her soft smile.

"Hey yourself."

She looked down, wrapping her arms round herself.

"How's my scarf?"

She chuckled. "It's good. Thanks, by the way."

"No problem. Steal it anytime."

He started making his way over to the benches, and she followed him.

"How long have been here?" she asked, as they sat down on the table, feet on the bench.

"About an hour. I've been so messed up about everything to do with basketball these past couple of weeks I figured it'd be worth reminding myself why I play."

She took the ball off him and span it in her hands. "So did you remember?"

He shrugged. "I guess so."

They fell quiet, both looking out over the court.

"So what brought you here?" Lucas asked after a minute.

"My feet."

"Very funny."

Brooke grinned. "No seriously, I don't know. I was just walking, and…they brought me here."

Lucas nodded, smiling.

Brooke looked down, running her hands over the basketball. The surface was worn almost smooth.

"Hold still a second." She looked up as Lucas reached over and gently touched her cheek, before producing his finger with an eyelash on it. "Make a wish."

Brooke smiled and then blew it away.

She glanced at Lucas and saw he was still looking at her intensely. "What?"

"Why'd you ever stop modelling?"

Brooke was momentarily taken aback, then let out a derisive chuckle. "I never really started."

"You did some really great stuff."

"They were one-off things. I don't want to be a model; I didn't even want to then."

Lucas was still looking at her, but shrugged. "Good. I like it that you're a well-kept secret."

She raised her eyebrows, and he smiled bashfully, looking away guiltily at the touch of ownership that had crept into his words.

"So you didn't even like it at the time?" he asked after a moment, slipping the ball out of her hands and starting to turn it in his own.

"No, I suppose I did. Of course it's fun, but not as a full time job. Besides, there's no way I could compete in that world."

Lucas pursed his lips. "Well, we both know that's not true," he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Pretty girl."

She turned to look at him but he just smiled and slipped off the bench, heading back onto the court.

Brooke couldn't help a smile from forming on her lips…it felt really good to hear that name again. And it was nothing to do with self-esteem.

She got up and followed him onto the court. He shot a basket then tossed her the ball.

"So guess what I was listening to the other day?"

Lucas raised his eyebrows.

"Remember that CD you made me, Junior year?" she bounced the ball a couple of times and took a shot, which rebounded off the rim. "I found it when I was clearing my closets. There was actually some pretty good stuff on it."

Lucas smiled as he went to retrieve the shot, though he was slightly disappointed to hear she had found the CD by accident. It had been ridiculous of him to imagine she might have wanted to listen to it for any other reason than curiosity. "Well of course. I always make the best mixtapes."

"Of course it was filled with a lot of your heavy stuff; Jimmy Eat World almost sent me into a spiral of depression."

He did a double take at the band name. They'd been thinking about the same song. He swallowed and took another shot. "That one about Angels?" he asked casually.

"No, it was 'Polaris'."

"Oh, yeah…that was a good song. Although I suppose they were a little whiny."

Brooke chuckled and Lucas begun to hum the tune. "God, takes you back, doesn't it?" he asked after a minute.

She nodded.

_If you go I'll let you be.  
Though it's killing everything in me._

"What do you think would have happened if I hadn't let you go?"

Brooke turned her head sharply, startled. He was standing with the ball under his arm again. She met his mild expression but her gaze rested on the shimmer on his eyes.

She didn't say anything for a second. Then she smiled slightly. "I have no idea. We'll never know, and we probably couldn't guess. Things never work out exactly as you think. Even if we'd stayed together we might be completely different people now. I don't think you can ever say whether a decision was right or wrong once it's made."

Lucas nodded slowly. Then he caught something in her last words. "What about before it's made – future decisions…" he met her eyes. "Can there ever be a right answer?"

"Maybe."

Lucas held her gaze for an intense minute and then cracked a smile. "Maybe? Maybe there can or is that the right answer?"

Brooke smiled back and nodded. "The answer's maybe."

She could tell by his smile that he, too, knew what the question was.

Lucas set down his basketball in the hall and made his way into the living room, flopping down on the couch. His mom and Keith were still out. They were all going to Christmas Eve drinks at the café that evening, and he and Brooke had left the River court abruptly when they realised what time it was, but it seemed he needn't have rushed.

This annoyed him more than it should have. The possibility of a missed opportunity…

He was soothed by the softly glowing lights of the Christmas tree.

This room was perfect for Christmas; it's small size made it especially cosy. Lucas only wished it got more use over the holiday. The peace surrounding him jogged a memory of the previous year.

_Lucas padded down the stairs of his mother's house; the kids were all watching a film upstairs, lethargic after their large Christmas lunch. He stopped in the entrance to the living room and leant against the door as he took in the sight before him._

_Brooke was sitting on the window ledge, her knees pulled up in front of her, staring out at the snow outside. She had pulled a large sweater over her clothes and was holding a mug of something._

_He watched her sip her drink, and lean her head against the window, the low light in the room casting a shadow across her face._

_He didn't want to disturb her, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to say anything anyway. She still took his breath away sometimes, when he saw her like this; so peaceful and serene she seemed like something from another world._

_Whatever his feelings for her he had to admit she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And her beauty was something no amount of plastic surgery could get you; it was inside her, and he saw it every time she smiled at Amy. It was her passion, for life, for her family. _

_That was when he missed her most…when he saw that beauty and remembered he used to see it every day._

_There was a noise in the house, and he broke out of his reverie. She turned and saw him, and smiled. He smiled back, taking a few steps into the room._

"_Hey you," she said._

"_Hey."_

_She stood up, and they walked to the kitchen, where she poured him a cup of coffee._

"_When did you sneak off?" he asked._

_She chuckled. "As soon as they found the movie. Sorry, I just wanted some quiet for a minute." _

"_That's totally understandable. Sorry I disturbed you."_

"_No, it's okay. It's nice to talk to you."_

_She smiled at him and he smiled back. _

"_So how early was Ames up this morning?"_

_Brooke laughed. "Um…about six. We'd agreed seven but she came in early and said she was too excited and that she'd been awake since five but she'd been really good and waited. So I took pity on her and let her open a few little presents from her stocking." _

_Lucas chuckled, but felt a stab of sadness at the thought that he might never experience that moment: his child's excitement at the very beginning of Christmas day._

"_How long are you staying for tomorrow?" Brooke asked._

"_Till after lunch."_

_Brooke nodded, her eyebrows slightly raised: "Will you get in before the evening?"_

"_The flight's not too long."_

_Brooke hesitated, then asked: "Was Emma okay when you told her?"_

_Lucas looked down at his drink, "She wasn't exactly pleased but she knows Christmas is important to Amy."_

_There was a pause. "Thanks for being here Luke," Brooke said eventually._

_He looked up and smiled, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."_

Brooke stood at the door of Karen's café, waiting for Amy to finish saying goodbye to Karen. Most people were still standing inside, holding drinks and talking. But most of their high school friends didn't have kids yet, and Karen's friends had kids whose bedtime was definitely later that nine O'clock. It was way past that now of course, and Brooke knew that even the excitement of Christmas Eve wouldn't keep Amy awake that much longer.

It had been a long evening; fun, but tiring. There had been lots of old friends there who always had countless questions about New York, and how her work was going.

Brooke glanced outside at the cab she had hailed, hoping Amy wouldn't be that much longer.

"Sneaking off?"

"We weren't going to leave before Amy said goodbye."

He smiled a little. "It's okay, Amy already came and found me."

She nodded. "I was going to say goodbye too," she added suddenly. "I'm just…holding this cab."

He smiled a little more. "Okay."

"And I'm going to see you in twelve hours anyway."

He shrugged. "That's true."

Brooke mentally kicked herself. Why did she have to undercut everything, always. Why couldn't she just agree that yes, it was important to say goodbye to him on Christmas Eve, when she'd barely had a chance to talk to him all evening.

"So um…" she was interrupted by Amy hurtling up to them. She hugged Lucas around the middle, squealing, "Bye again Daddy!", before she bounced out into the street.

"It's almost Christmas!" she cried to the night sky.

Lucas chuckled and Brooke smiled, taking a step out on the sidewalk and reaching out an arm to Amy. "I'll uh…see you tomorrow," she said to Lucas.

"Yeah…bye Brooke." He trailed off as Brooke turned to direct Amy towards the cab. She looked back as her daughter got in, on hand on the door.

"Happy…Christmas Eve…"

One corner of his mouth turned up. "Yeah, you too…Give Amy a kiss for me tomorrow morning."

She nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but Amy was pulling on her arm and she turned to get in the cab, and when she looked back Lucas just held up a hand, and then they were pulling away.

Brooke smiled as she came out of the bathroom and saw Amy curled up on the double bed in red pyjamas, playing with a Barbie.

"Got your Christmas PJs on?" she asked Amy with a smile as she moved onto the bed next to her.

"Uh huh." Amy grinned. "It's only one more night!"

Brooke cupped the back of Amy's head with a hand, leaning over to kiss her hair. "Did you have fun with Hales today?"

"Yeah! She took me to a doll store, and she helped me pick a present for Leyla. And then she made me only look in one part of the store while she went to chose something to tell Santa to get for me." Amy grinned. "And I said shouldn't Santa have got all his presents already? And then she told me not to be a smart ass or I'd get a piece of coal." Amy was still grinning at the thought of her Aunt being so funny and Brooke shook her head, smiling.

"Well maybe tomorrow we'll tell Auntie Hales that if she keeps using phrases like 'smart-ass' in front of my daughter, _she'll _get a piece of coal."

"Mommy, you say worse things all the time. 'Cause Daddy's always getting mad at you for it."

Brooke pulled a shocked face. "I do not! When have you ever heard me say anything bad Ames? In fact," she added quickly, "Don't answer that. I wouldn't want you to repeat anything, just in case."

Amy giggled. "Anyway. So I know Auntie Hales is getting me something really cool cause I was talking about how much I like Barbie the whole time and she was smiling."

Brooke chuckled. "Okay, well no more guessing otherwise you'll ruin the surprises."

Amy nodded solemnly. "Anyway, we don't have a tree in here," she said, "so I can't look at the shape of my presents."

Brooke frowned slightly. "Do you mind? That we don't have a tree?"

Amy shrugged, but didn't smile. "It's okay. There'll be one on Christmas day when we go to Gamma's house. And it'd be a little silly to have a tree in a hotel room."

Brooke stroked Amy's hair sadly. "Yeah…"

"I wish Daddy was here though. Or we were with him." Amy was looking down at her Barbie, running her fingers over the polyester clothes. She looked up and pulled a smile for Brooke. "But it's fun just being together."

Brooke recognised the restrained tone of voice Amy got when she was trying to act brave and grown up. She pulled Amy into her arms and squeezed her tightly. Amy resisted a little, and Brooke remembered her saying once that sometimes it made her want to cry when she hugged her.

She knew the feeling exactly, even thought Amy hadn't explained it very well at the time; when you get comforted it suddenly makes it so much harder not to let go of restraint

The best she could say was: "We'll see him in the morning." She felt Amy nod against her shoulder. When she pulled back she was smiling again, a little more warmly now, and she climbed under the covers looking relatively happy. Brooke kissed her hair and said "Goodnight", and then went to turn off the light before sliding in beside her.

She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling. As soon as silence descended in the room the thoughts that had been slowly circling in her mind gathered and reformed again.

She thought about what Lucas had said at the River court: was there a right answer? Was there one path that led to happiness and another to sadness?

She was sure it didn't work like that. But decisions still had to be made, and why couldn't there be a right choice? She had liked her reply earlier – and the smile it won her – but they couldn't go on forever on the happy possibility of maybe. They couldn't keep on sustaining themselves with the _idea_ of happily ever after, or it would remain a dream. At some point she'd have to risk the possibility of another nightmare. She'd have to make a judgement that it was worth the risk.

Her thoughts sought back to that earlier moment, in her living room in New York again. She immersed herself in the warmth of that memory.

In the moment, she'd thought he'd meant it. That was all she could be sure of now; she hoped she could trust her own judgement of the moment. Because if she was honest with herself, when she returned to her thoughts at that second where the words tumbled out, she _knew_ he meant it. And she knew it wasn't a sudden emotion or urge for anything either. She knew he was in love with her. And that was the judgement she'd really have to trust.

She turned her head and her eyes traced the silhouette of Amy's face in the dark. She thought of Lucas' last words when they had parted that evening.

Amy suddenly turned over in her sleep and opened her eyes.

Two shining pools met Brooke's.

"I'm too excited about Christmas; I can't sleep."

Brooke smiled a little. "Me neither." She hesitated. Lucas' words were filling her head, along with her last thoughts.

She'd been listening to that Beatles song too much, expecting her life to lead back to him somehow. You couldn't just stay on the path and expect it to lead you to happiness. The road winds becuase you make the turns yourself.

"Hey, Ames, how about we go for a little drive?"

"A drive?"

"Yeah."

"Where to?"

Brooke reached for the phone, wondering if the hotel could get her a cab at this time. "Somewhere we both want to go."

Brooke stroked Amy's hair as the cab turned the corner onto the familiar street. She had fallen asleep as soon as she snuggled against Brooke's side in the backseat of the cab.

The drum that had been going against Brooke's chest for the duration of the ride sped up as the car pulled to a stop.

"This is 1167."

She paid the driver and got out, supporting the sleeping Amy on one hip.

As she walked up the path to the side of the house, her mind seemed oddly detached; she wondered how crazy this actually was. All she knew was once she'd thought of it she wouldn't have been able to sleep again that night.

As soon as she reached the door her hand came up and she knocked, lightly, her knuckles brushing the shiny red paint.

It was only as she waited on the doorstep, shivering a little, and heard the first sound from inside, that she realised there was no going back now. She had made the decision before she realised it, without hesitating. The path had split.

The door opened and Lucas was standing there, an expression on his face of pure surprise. It settled after a moment however, and he just smiled at her. "Hi." His voice was quiet but the syllable was so rich and filled with emotion that her breath caught in her throat.

She'd been so stupid. Maybe was definitely not the right answer.

"Hi."

He was still smiling at her, and then he stepped forward and took Amy from her arms and brought her into the house without a word, and Brooke slowly followed him in and shut the door behind her as he laid their daughter down in his bed.

She leant against the door, surveying his old room, as he lifted the covers over Amy and brushed aside her hair. She watched him place a kiss on her forehead and then stand and turn, dipping his head and approaching her with his hands in his pockets.

"So…what happened?"

Brooke opened her mouth and hesitated for a second; her whole frame was aware of his body, hardly a foot away from her. "I didn't want her to wake up without you again…on Christmas morning." She licked her lips and looked down. "And I couldn't go to sleep alone."

"You weren't alone. Surely Amy was sharing a room with you?" He knew what she meant, but for once he was going to push her.

She looked straight up into his eyes, and as he looked back at her it was as though his gaze was made of a soft fire that ignited her whole body.

"I couldn't go to sleep without you."

The words had been hanging in her mind and then they were out and the sound had disappeared into the air, and she wasn't sure whether she had spoken at all.

But then Lucas was moving; digging his hands in his pockets he paced to the wall, before turning back to her, and Brooke tensed before she saw the bewildered smile on his face.

His heart was racing, but so were his thoughts, and Lucas ran a hand through his hair. "What does that mean, Brooke?"

She raised one shoulder. "I don't know."

"You can't sleep without me? What, you want to sleep with me?" He shifted the emphasis to change the implication of the phrase.

"No!" Brooke exclaimed automatically. She hesitated, completely tongue-tied by his forwardness. "I don't know…no, I just…" She saw he was smiling at her, shaking his head at her confusion.

"Stop looking at me like that! How are you so calm about this? Lucas…this is…this is 'us' we're talking about. Isn't it? I mean…isn't that what you were talking about?"

He moved towards her, taking her hands, and his expression became serious. "Yes. Of course that's what we're talking about. 'Us' in big block capitals Brooke. Why do you think I was smiling?" And the corners of his lips curved just a little again.

She looked up into his eyes, unconsciously lacing her fingers through his. "Aren't you scared?"

His smile grew. "No." He saw her mouth open suddenly and her eyes widened slightly. She had just realised what he had become sure of in the two months since he broke up with Emma. They really would have their future together.

He saw that her expression was still fearful and moved back a little, his smile softening. "Look, we shouldn't rush anything." Hell, he'd held out four years without kissing her, he could struggle through a couple more days.

She nodded, but still couldn't think of words to say.

He looked down, digging his hands in his pockets again. "I should…give you some time to think. I'm going to go to bed; Amy's going to want to be up early tomorrow." He was worried now that he'd handled it wrong; after so long he'd thought they were past the stage of neurotic relationships, but where love was concerned, Brooke scared easily, and he would rather handle things tentatively than mess them up again.

She glanced at the little sleeping figure in the bed and nodded again, and he turned to go.

"Lucas."

She'd crossed the threshold. She wasn't going to leave anything uncertain this time.

He turned back, and she came towards him, pulling him back close to her by his T-shirt. Her smiled tentatively and then looked down, her fingers playing with the soft cotton.

"When we get back to New York, we'll talk, okay?" She looked up and he met her eyes, big and glistening.

He nodded, smiling too. "Okay."

"You didn't scare me away," she said, giving her head a small shake. "And I want this. But like you said, we shouldn't rush it; the next couple of days let's just have a really nice Christmas as a family, and then we can talk when we get home."

He nodded. His throat had tightened up at the word 'family' and he didn't trust himself to speak.

She was about to let him go, and he was about to turn away, when suddenly her hand tightened into a fist clutching his shirt, and she pulled him against her. Her other hand cupped his cheek and she closed her eyes and found his lips.

He felt her mouth against his for just a second, before she pulled back, but it was enough to make his world flip over. She leant her forehead against his and kept her eyes closed.

Her voice came out as a whisper. "Just to make sure we have something to talk about."

He was suddenly more aware of his heart beating, and slowly realised that he could feel hears too; beating through her skin against his.

She slid her hand down his chest and gently pushed him away.

She had forgotten what being close to him did to her; there was no way she'd be able to sleep next to him that night. He was right, they should take it slowly.

"I'll take the couch, okay?"

He nodded. "Sleep well."

She kept her eyes on his as she began to leave the room, and then gave him one last smile before she left.

Lucas let out a breath and leant against the wall.

Sleep well? Dream on.

_SO…what do you think??_


	24. Be Discreet

Hey everyone - so this is sort of half a chapter, because I'm going away for two weeks tomorrow but I really wanted to get something up so you guys wouldn't have to wait any longer. Hope you like it! (Also, Keith turns up in this chapter - as I've said before, since I started writing before the whole tragic death thing, I've sort of ignored it. Hope no one minds).

* * *

Lucas felt consciousness dawn on him, and became aware of a smiling face looking over his. He smiled back, the memory of the previous day rushing back all at once. He glanced to his right, and saw Amy still curled up next to him, her eyes closed. Brooke lifted a finger to her lips and perched on the edge of the bed, then cupped his face and leant down, placing a light kiss on his cheek.

"I could get used to getting woken up like this."

Brooke's smile grew.

Lucas slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. "How did you wake up so early?" he whispered, taking in the fact Brooke was already dressed.

Brooke shrugged. "It's Christmas day. I was excited."

She was still beaming and he couldn't help but grin back at her. From the look in her eyes, he knew her smile wasn't really caused by the thought of presents and Christmas cake. He slipped his fingers through hers, and squeezed her hand.

There were signs of movement next to them, and they broke their look to see Amy turn onto her back and stretch, before rubbing her eyes. As she took her hands away a huge grin suddenly broke out on her face.

"It's Christmas!"

Brooke and Lucas both laughed, and Lucas pulled her over into his lap. "Yes it is baby girl."

Amy hugged him tightly. "You're here!"

Brooke chuckled and brushed a hand over her hair. "Do you remember last night Ames?"

"Yeah…we moved." Amy's little forehead wrinkled.

Lucas nodded. "Yup. Santa thought you deserved an extra treat, so he magicked you over here when he came by to drop off your presents."

"I think we came in a cab actually…" muttered Amy, still frowning.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Exactly. It was a Christmas miracle that we managed to find one at one in the morning." Lucas laughed, and she turned to him, her eyes finding his. She instantly had an overwhelming urge to kiss him, but instead she smiled and looked down, her smile lingering as she felt his hand squeeze her knee.

Luckily Amy was by now far too pre-occupied by the discovery of her stocking at the end of the bed to notice.

"Hold up Ames!" Lucas said as she began pulling out the little packages inside. "Now that you're here why don't you open your stocking with Gamma and Grandpa Keith too?"

"Are they awake?"

"Well it's still only 8.30 baby, so we could let them sleep a little longer."

Amy pulled a pained face. "I've already waited later than the earliest time you said!"

"Well maybe you could have some more sleep too - you had a late night last night and - "

"It's Christmas though! We can't waste it sleeping! Please daddy, can I just open some, please please please!"

Lucas hesitated, smiling at the pleading face she made. "Okay, one."

"Pushover," muttered Brooke, and Lucas gave her stomach a tickle in response.

Amy was already weighing up presents in her hands but Lucas started putting them back in them back in the stocking. "How about you take them all into the living room Ames, and you can have one before breakfast." He turned to Brooke. "I'll get dressed and go and see whether my Mom's up." Brooke nodded and he waited till Amy had left the room with her load before he spoke again. "What shall I say about why you're here?" There was a hint of a smile on his lips as he asked the question.

Brooke bit her lip. "Um…just say Ames wanted to be with you. They don't need the whole story yet."

"And the whole story is?"

Brooke smiled. "That I wanted to be with you." She rested a hand on his chest, and looked at her fingers as she brushed the cotton of his T-shirt. Then she asked hesitantly: "If we could keep the…recent developments to ourselves – just for now – would that be okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, absolutely. There's no rush."

He lifted a hand to her cheek and raised her face to meet her eyes. Her gaze dropped to his lips and she leant down towards him.

"Mom!"

They jerked apart at the sound of Amy's voice, and Brooke looked round quickly, but it had come from the living room. She turned back to Lucas with a soft smile. "I'd better go see to that."

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you in a minute."

* * *

Karen and Keith roused themselves quickly when they heard Amy was in the house already, and soon they were all sitting in the kitchen, eating the pancakes that Karen was producing in an endless stream.

Karen had not questioned the nighttime appearance of her granddaughter and ex-daughter-in-law, but had simply kissed Brooke on the cheek when she came in, and said: "It's so lovely to have you with us." She was curious however, and she could tell Keith was too, as he kept stealing glances at Lucas and Brooke as they smiled at each other across the table.

"So what time do you think we should head over to Debs'?" Lucas asked, as he received his second plate of pancakes from his mom.

"Well I think we should go over before lunch so we can help out; making lunch for fifteen, or however many we are now, is a tall order and I'm sure Nathan won't be helping out at all!"

"Good thing too," Brooke said, "Nothing worse than food poisoning to ruin boxing day."

Karen smiled. "And speaking of lunch, you're going to ruin your appetite Lucas, give some of those to Keith." She indicated the stack of three pancakes on his plate that he was happily digging into. Lucas looked down at them sadly at the maple-syrup and blueberry covered creation and then grudgingly slid one out from the bottom of the pile and flipped it onto Keith's plate.

Keith grinned at him and then turned to Amy. "How about you kid, want one of your dad's pancakes?"

Amy looked up from the Barbie she was holding – the contents of the stocking presents she'd opened – and tipped her head on one side.

"Well…they do look pretty good…"

Lucas raised his fork in outrage. "There's more mix in the pan! These are mine!"

"Luke," Brooke said disapprovingly, "You shouldn't make your poor mom start cooking again. She's only just sat down."

Lucas looked open-mouthed at the three women sitting across from him. "But I got the level of maple-syrup exactly right…"

Amy giggled. "It's okay. You can keep them."

Lucas sighed. "Thank you." Responding to Brooke's shaking head with a grin, he settled down and began eating again.

Once they'd all got dressed Brooke finally relented and let Amy open the rest of her stocking presents. She sat on the big sofa with Karen and Keith while Brooke and Lucas flopped down on the smaller one to watch. Brooke leant her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm tired already," she murmured.

Lucas drew his eyes away from Amy and rested a hand on the back of her head. "You hardly had any sleep."

"I couldn't go to sleep. Did you?"

Lucas chuckled. "I thought I wouldn't. But I slept so well. Better than I have in ages."

Brooke gave him a small smile. "I'm glad."

"Mom, you're not watching!"

Brooke looked over at Amy who was holding up the rubix cube she had just unwrapped. "I am sweetie. Chuck it over here, let's see what Santa got you."

Amy narrowed her eyes – she was suspicious about the reality of Santa – and tossed it over.

"Nice throw," said Lucas approvingly.

Amy grinned. "Thanks Daddy."

Brooke rolled her eyes and turned the rubix cube over in her hands. "Can't remember why I put this in there," she said in an undertone, though she needn't have been so quiet as Amy was wrapped up in unwrapping the next present.

"These are cool. Haley knows how to do them."

"Oh yeah I think she was talking about it and I wanted to try one."

"So now you're going to steal your daughter's present."

Brooke grinned. "Yup. It's tough filling a whole stocking with small stuff; I've gotta have a few things in there for me."

Lucas laughed, taking the rubix cube from her hands. "So what, she'll be opening Chanel nail varnish next?"

"Oh no. That would be a mistake. I'd never get it off her." She shook her head at the thought. "But that is something I'd like…you know, if you felt like getting me a couple of extra presents."

"What makes you think I haven't got you enough? I've got you very good presents."

"Plural? That's pretty generous for an ex-husband."

Lucas shrugged, smiling. "Maybe I foresaw a change in status and shopped accordingly," he whispered.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Always so much faith in your own appeal. So me turning up yesterday was your idea then?"

He grinned. "It's all about suggestion Brooke."

Karen looked over at that moment. "Lucas, quit whispering over there and come and help us construct this polly pocket.

Lucas stood up. "Sure. Keith, switch."

Keith obligingly stood up and went to sit next to Brooke. "So Miss Davis," he said, placing a hand firmly on Brooke's knee. "How's life?"

Brooke beamed at him. "It's pretty good Keith. And yourself?"

Keith looked over at Karen and smiled. "Yup. Pretty good."

* * *

By the time they had packed all the big presents into the car later that morning and were ready to leave for the Scotts' house, Amy had managed to twist the rubix cube so far from it's original pattern that Brooke had despaired of ever being able to impress Haley by magically solving it.

When they reached the house, Karen and Keith took Amy in, and Brooke and Lucas hung back to unload the car, and to have one more moment alone before they entered the fray.

"So, Haley's gonna be on full alert for any…you know, developments between us," Lucas began awkwardly, as he lifted out a bag.

"Why?" Brooke asked. "Did you tell her something?"

Lucas squinted and pressed his lips together. "When I was staying with them I may have talked about you a little."

"Oh really?" Brooke raised an eyebrow. "And what did you say?"

"Just, sort of...general stuff about...feelings that I might still have."

"Like how you're completely still in love with me and wanted us to get back together?"

Lucas grinned. "Well I wasn't quite so precise."

Brooke smiled back. "Well, it's doesn't matter. I think we can handle Haley. Just be discreet. Don't...touch me too much."

Lucas laughed. "I can't touch you?"

"You know what I mean. Act...normal."

"Normally I touch you," Lucas said, still looking at her incredulously.

"Oh whatever. Let's just go inside."

They headed up the path, Lucas making a point to stay at least four feet away from her at all times, until she rolled her eyes and dragged him before she rung the bell.

* * *

Once Karen was helping out, lunch was produced with no drama whatsoever. Two tables had been put together to make room for them all - Peyton and Jake and their kids were there as well - and when the meal began there was a constant stream of platters and bowls rotating round the table as everyone helped themselves to firsts, and then seconds and in Nathan's case thirds of the various dishes.

When it came time to clear away, Brooke managed to marshal Jenny, Amy and Jack into a team of servants, but they only seemed willing to make two trips to the kitchen so she ended up carrying most of the stacks of plates through herself.

"There's a couple more dishes over here," Lucas said, as Brooke re-entered the dining room from the kitchen for the fourth time.

"You know, you do have legs Lucas. I don't see why I've suddenly turned into Cinderella."

"You specifically told us not to get up," Nathan said, smiling.

"Well that was when I thought the kids were actually going to be helpful."

"I carried three plates!" Amy cried indignantly.

Brooke just rolled her eyes.

"Actually, I should get the pudding," Deb said, pushing back her chair.

"I'll help," Lucas offered, standing up.

"Oh sure, now you help," Brooke said scathingly, "But you're incapable of carrying one gravy jug for the mother of your child."

Lucas just grinned at her, but took the dishes out of her hands and carried them through to the kitchen for her. She followed him, to help carry things back, and waited as Deb went through with the steaming Christmas pudding. Lucas followed holding a jug of cream, but Brooke held up a hand and gently pushed him back towards the kitchen.

She took the jug out of his hands and placed it down on the last bit of free space left on the kitchen table, and then turned to face Lucas, biting her lip slightly and smiling at him.

Lucas raised his eyebrows, and moved closer to her. "What's up?"

Brooke rolled her eyes upwards. He gave a little frown that made her smile even more because he looked so adorable. She tipped her head upwards, and this time his eyes followed, and he saw the little sprig of mistletoe that was hanging from the ceiling.

A smile grew on his lips as he met her eyes again. He moved closer to her. "What happened to talking in New York?"

Brooke rolled her eyes, slipping her hands onto his waist. "But it's mistletoe. Plus…you've been staring at me all through lunch."

He chuckled. "I've been staring at you? Whenever I looked at you you were looking at me." He cupped her face with both hands as he spoke, his thumbs brushing over her skin.

"Well whichever," she murmured, "I'm sick of waiting."

He smiled softly, leaning his forehead against hers. "You already broke the wait yesterday. After five years without touching your lips I had something pretty epic planned, and you went and spoiled it."

She slid her hands up his back, pressing her body against his. "How about you show me now?"

He smiled again, and then he brought her lips to his and kissed her hard. Her mouth opened and he tasted her, his tongue moving over hers. Brooke let out a moan and dug her fingers into his back. His lips were firm against hers and she could feel his thumb brushing her cheek. When he pulled back she immediately missed the contact, and captured his lips softly for another second before they broke apart.

She raised her eyes slowly to meet his, and smiled. The look in his eyes made her heart flutter. "I missed you Lucas."

He just smiled back, nodding his head a little, then he cupped the back of her head and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her in a firm hug. He pressed his lips against the top of her head, and they stood there for a couple of seconds, breathing each other in, until there was a noise in the hall and they broke apart and headed back to the dining room.

* * *

After all the presents had been opened that afternoon there was the usual early-evening slump in energy where all the parents collapsed on sofas. The kids, boosted by the excitement of new toys, ran off to the TV room to play with them where they wouldn't be shushed at every five minutes. Karen and Deb went off to supervise them, dragging Keith with them so that the others could have a break.

"I think we need more food," Lucas said after a minute.

"How can you possibly be hungry?" Peyton asked. "I don't think I'll ever eat again."

"Actually...I could eat something sweet," Brooke mused, tipping her head on one side.

"If you're serious there's Christmas cake in the kitchen," Haley said.

"Yeah, come one Luke, I think I need some sugar before I fall asleep." She grabbed his arm and pulled him up and out of the room.

"So what's going on with those two?" Haley asked, as Brooke and Lucas left the room.

Jake looked up. "What do you mean? Has something happened?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking."

"Well you must know something, otherwise why do you ask. Peyt, did Brooke say something?"

Peyton held up her hands. "I don't know anything. Nathan?"

Nathan opened his mouth and hesitated.

"WO! What did he say?" Peyton asked eagerly.

"Hold on, I didn't say anything! No he…well he didn't say anything had happened but the other day he was talking about…talking to her…"

"I think something's happened," Haley said firmly. "They're so smiley."

Jake narrowed his eyes. "But you guys thought something was going on in Italy – that was like six months ago and we haven't seen any evidence that you were right."

"Yeah but this is different," Peyton mused. "He broke up with Emma."

"And we know that was because of Brooke," Haley added.

"But Brooke hasn't said anything to anyone," Nathan said. "Maybe we should call Carrie…"

"Yeah, but Brooke wouldn't talk about it. If she's really serious she'd probably be too scared to find out if he felt the same. She'd keep it to herself and get all worked up over it."

Haley chuckled. "That does sound about right. But then, even with her stubborn streak where Lucas is concerned, she must have noticed his feelings by now. I mean, he's always been in love with her."

"Well he had a funny way of showing it, being with Emma," Nathan put in. "Maybe we should talk to her."

Haley and Peyton both opened their mouths to reply, but at that moment they heard Brooke laughing, and they both stopped as she and Lucas came back into the room; Lucas was holding Brooke's wrists, and had managed to get cream on her nose.

Brooke was still laughing as she entered, and then stopped and looked around at the four faces looking back at them. "Hey guys. Is something wrong?" Lucas turned, his expression mirroring Brooke's with eyebrows raised, and Brooke's hands still in his.

Haley smiled and shook her head. "No. Everything's just fine."

* * *

I'll be adding more to this chapter and going on when I update, so if there's anything extra you'd particularly like to see in these scenes, let me know! And please review!!


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